Saturday, November 4, 2023

FBI Misused Database for Jan 6 & Racial Justice Protests Suspects

Date:

The FBI has been accused of regularly misusing a spy database meant for foreign investigations while investigating suspects in the January 6, 2021 storming of the United States Capitol, according to a report from an oversight court. The report reveals that the FBI used a special intelligence database containing foreign intelligence thousands of times while investigating US citizens, confirming concerns that critics have had of the programme. The database has been maintained under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which expires at the end of the year. The revelations could threaten its renewal by Congress. The FBI’s own standards were not followed in repeated episodes, according to the document, which said 300,000 abuses were recorded between 2020 and early 2021. The report also notes that the number of people with access to the database may need to be severely curtailed if the misuse persists.

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