WASHINGTON: The FBI's director, Robert Mueller, admitted the bureau had abused the enhanced powers vested on it through the U.S. Patriot Act and obtained sensitive personal information on people, including their bank account, phone and credit card details discreetly.
Mueller, reacting to a report by the inspector general of the justice department that there were at least 26 intelligence violations reported by the FBI itself and several other privacy violations found by the department's auditors, said he takes responsibility as the person accountable for the agency. He appreciated the report and said he has already ordered an inquiry to find out details and to determine whether anyone needed to be punished.
Mueller, however, pointed out that the report has not mentioned that the violations were carried out intentionally and that many of the suggestions in the report are now being implemented.
The report by the inspector general Glenn A Fine found that FBI agents sometimes demanded personal data on individuals without authorization and that the FBI had improperly obtained telephone records in cases where there was no requirement to do so. He also said the department's auditors found several privacy violations while reviewing some of the143,074 National Security Letters, which was in essence a power given to the FBI under the Patriot Act, enacted following the 11 September 2001 terror attacks. The letters, in effect subpoenas, are used on terrorism suspects to obtain personal information. The letters required that service providers like telephone companies, banks, credit bureaus and other similar businesses part with highly confidential and personal information on their customers when sought by the FBI.
The report found that in a number of cases, the FBI sought the information on an emergency basis saying subpoenas will be issued later, but never did so. And it also did not properly report on the use of the letters to the Congress.
The report led to both Democratic and Republican lawmakers criticizing the agency and some of them even calling for the immediate withdrawal of the rights provided to the FBI.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, said House Democrats will investigate the "disturbing" disclosures. Senator Arlen Specter, a high ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the Congress must consider withdrawing some of the authority given to FBI.
Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he would conduct extensive hearings on the findings, their significance and possible remedies.
Meanwhile, attorney general Alberto R. Gonzales said he and Mueller are disturbed at the findings and there can be no excuse for the mistakes made.
Glenn reported that the number of National Security Letters issued by the FBI had gone up substantially in the years after the Patriot Act was passed. He said the agency had issued nearly 8,500 letters in 2000. However, by 2003, this reached 39,000 and rose to 56,000 in 2004.
His findings also focused on the need to set up an audit system to verify the accuracy of reports to the Congress on the use of security letters; training and education for FBI field offices, which now enjoy enhanced authority to issue the letters without headquarters' review; and introduction of internal controls and more levels of review so that any privacy breach could be spotted immediately.
Mueller said the FBI has stopped using the letters to call for phone records in May 2006. He, however, said the letters were an essential ingredient of FBI counterterrorism investigations.
The American Civil Liberties Union called on the Congress to amend the Patriot Act to incorporate the requirement of judicial approval before the FBI sought personal information.
The watchdog's executive director Anthony Romero said the attorney general and the FBI are part of the problem and they cannot be trusted to be part of the solution.
