Lawmakers Warn FBI Over Spy Power Abuse

In this March 9, 2007, file photo, FBI Director Robert Mueller speaks at FBI headquarters in Washington to discuss the gathering of personal information. Mueller was to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday to answer questions on illegal or improper FBI syping. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (Susan Walsh - AP)

"We do not trust government always to be run by angels, especially not this administration," Nadler said. "It is not enough to mandate that the FBI fix internal management problems and record keeping, because the statute itself authorizes the unchecked collection of information on innocent Americans."

Valerie Caproni, the FBI's general counsel, testified that steps were already being taken to rectify the problems, which she called "a colossal failure on our part."

"We're going to have to work to get the trust of this committee back, and we know that's what we have to do, and we're going to do it," Caproni said.

That did little to appease lawmakers who said they had fought hard to give the Justice Department wide latitude to chase terrorists in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.

"From the attorney general on down, you should be ashamed of yourself," said Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. "We stretched to try to give you the tools necessary to make America safe, and it is very, very clear that you've abused that trust."

Some Republicans, however, said the FBI's expanded spying powers were vital to tracking terrorists.

"The problem is enforcement of the law, not the law itself," said Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, the panel's senior GOP member. "We need to be vigilant to make sure these problems are fixed."

Both Caproni and Fine said national security letters were an indispensable tool in terrorism investigations.

In a review of headquarters files and a sampling of just four of the FBI's 56 field offices, Fine found 48 violations of law or presidential directives from 2003 through 2005, including failure to get proper authorization, making improper requests and unauthorized collection of telephone or Internet e-mail records. He estimated that many violations hadn't been found or reported.

The bureau has launched an audit of all 56 field offices to determine the full extent of the problem. Members of the Senate panel will likely demand answers about the matter from FBI Director Robert Mueller at a broader hearing next week.

In 1986, Congress first authorized FBI agents to obtain electronic records without approval from a judge using national security letters. In 2001, the Patriot Act eliminated any requirement that the records belong to someone under suspicion. Now an innocent person's records can be obtained if FBI agents consider them merely relevant to an ongoing terrorism or spying investigation.

Fine's review, authorized by Congress over Bush administration objections, found that the number of national security letters requested by the FBI skyrocketed after the Patriot Act became law.

He also found more than 700 cases in which FBI agents obtained telephone records through "exigent letters" which asserted that grand jury subpoenas had been requested for the data, when in fact such subpoenas never been sought. He called those instances "the most troubling aspect of this."

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On the Net:

Department of Justice: http://www.usdoj.gov

House Judiciary Committee: http://judiciary.house.gov/