Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Newspaper Article of the Day

From the June 12th New York Times:
F.B.I. Agents Get Leeway to Push Privacy Bounds

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is giving significant new powers to its roughly 14,000 agents, allowing them more leeway to search databases, go through household trash or use surveillance teams to scrutinize the lives of people who have attracted their attention.

The F.B.I. soon plans to issue a new edition of its manual, called the Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide, according to an official who has worked on the draft document and several others who have been briefed on its contents. The new rules add to several measures taken over the past decade to give agents more latitude as they search for signs of criminal or terrorist activity.
Just imagine the uproar had this been done during the Bush Administration.

(via reader Warren)

1 comment:

A_Nonny_Mouse said...

Ummm... How does the FBI go about allocating non-constitutional powers to its operatives?

Perhaps they're just taking their cue from our Executive-in-Chief: "Just DO it. (Nobody's got the nerve to call you on it.)". I sure don't see any pushback from our Legislative branch about our Obama tossing bankruptcy law aside, or directing the general manager of a private company to resign, or extorting a $20 billion dollar slush fund from BP. (PS- Do we have any idea where that money went?)

Mr. President "I WON" seems to have infected the regulatory agencies with his hubris... Now we can all hold our breath waiting for the inevitable appearance of Nemesis.