FBI

That's what we are becoming, and it's all in the name of "terror":

The FBI acknowledged Wednesday it improperly accessed Americans' telephone records, credit reports and Internet traffic in 2006, the fourth straight year of privacy abuses resulting from investigations aimed at tracking terrorists and spies.

The breach occurred before the FBI enacted broad new reforms in March 2007 to prevent future lapses, FBI Director Robert Mueller said. And it was caused, in part, by banks, telecommunication companies and other private businesses giving the FBI more personal client data than was requested.

[SNIP]

An audit by the inspector general last year found the FBI demanded personal records without official authorization or otherwise collected more data than allowed in dozens of cases between 2003 and 2005. Additionally, last year's audit found that the FBI had underreported to Congress how many national security letters were requested by more than 4,600.

So are we going to have a big debate over giving the FBI immunity? What if I just happened to intercept a phone call or someone's internet traffic. I would end up in jail! Why is the FBI suddenly above the law?

Today's Washington Post:

When the FBI asked Congress this spring to provide $3.6 million in the war spending bill for its Gulfstream V jet, it said the money was needed to ensure that the aircraft, packed with state-of-the-art security and communications gear, could continue to fly counterterrorism agents on "crucial missions" into Iraq.

Since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the bureau has made similar annual requests to maintain and fuel the $40 million jet on grounds that it had a "tremendous impact" on combating terrorism by rapidly deploying FBI agents to "fast-moving investigations and crisis situations" in places such as Afghanistan.

But the jet that the FBI originally sold to lawmakers in the late 1990s as an essential tool for battling terrorism is now routinely used to ferry FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III to speeches, public appearances and field office visits.

So we are using a state of the art jet, designed to monitor and combat terrorism, to taxi around the FBI director.

Well this sounds somewhat familiar to me. As matter of fact, this story strikes a very similar note to this one:

In June of 2006, [Michael] Leavitt [Secretary of Health and Human services] came under criticism for misappropriation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Gulfstream III Emergency Response aircraft to, primarily, promote the newly reformed Medicare plan.

Critics argue that Leavitt irresponsibly has used the aircraft since January of 2006, logging over $700,000 worth of flight time in the 14 seat private jet. Leavitt’s office maintains that the use of the aircraft was necessary and legal since the Senate Appropriations Committee approved his use of the aircraft, and commercial services could not meet the deadlines required by his engagements. During two recent emergencies that the CDC has required use of the aircraft, they were forced to privately charter a different plane since the CDC’s GIII was in use by Leavitt.[1]

So we have top people in the Bush administration misusing equipment meant for the safety of our nation. If a citizen of this country interferes with an emergency vehicle (police car, fire truck, ambulance, etc.), they are charged with interfering with emergency response. Why aren't top government officials held to the same standards?

This is nothing more than abuse of tax payer dollars by the part who is supposed to stand for smaller government. Just remember - the Republicans won't question this behavior though (and most likely try to block any Democratic investigation into it). This doesn't have the priority of something so wasteful, as say; the Clintons Christmas card list.

More very damaging reports coming out. This brings us back to the whole wiretapping issue, and it appears the FBI may have broken the law. That is not some left-wing conspiracy, that is the report from the Justice Department's Inspector General:

The FBI repeatedly failed to follow the strict guidelines of the Patriot Act when its agents took advantage of a new provision allowing the FBI to obtain phone and financial records without a court order, according to a report to be made public Friday by the Justice Department's Inspector General.

The report, in classified and unclassified versions, remains closely held, but Washington officials who have seen it tell ABC News it documents "numerous lapses" and describe it as "scathing" and "not a pretty picture for the FBI."

FBI Director Robert Mueller is scheduled to brief Congress on the report at noon.

This is going to be another huge story. Impeachment time now?