Palladium-Item - www.pal-item.com - Richmond, Ind.: "The FBI's top brass is admitting to illegally poking around into the personal lives of Americans under the auspices of the Patriot Act.
In a 126-page scathing audit by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine, released Friday, the FBI was called out for demanding personal information on people without authorization over a three-year period; improperly obtaining telephone records in non-emergency circumstances; and underreporting to Congress the number of times the agency used administrative subpoenas, called national security letters, to obtain information on people.
All very troubling during a week when the 'Scooter' Libby conviction underscored yet again the lengths administrations will go in abusing authority by placing political interests above national ones.
The immediate expressions of regret, outrage and apology to Friday's report from top FBI and Justice Department officials are the bright spots, the good news, in this dark and woefully troubling story.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales characterized the breaches of public trust as 'frustrating' and 'upsetting' and left open the possibility of criminal prosecutions, although the auditors gave no indication of criminal misconduct in their report.
FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, while maintaining that the powers remain vital in catching "
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