FBI Says Patriot Act Spying Powers Haven’t Helped Them Crack a Single Major Case

by Warner Todd Huston | May 22, 2015 10:48 am

As the nation debates whether or not to re-authorize the Patriot Act, portions of which will sunset next month, we learn that the FBI is saying that the law hasn’t help them crack a single major case.

The FBI’s claim not a good advertisement[1] for those who want to re-up the law nor for those who want to give it even more teeth.

FBI agents can’t point to any major terrorism cases they’ve cracked thanks to the key snooping powers in the Patriot Act, the Justice Department’s inspector general said in a report Thursday that could complicate efforts to keep key parts of the law operating.

Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz said that between 2004 and 2009, the FBI tripled its use of bulk collection under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which allows government agents to compel businesses to turn over records and documents, and increasingly scooped up records of Americans who had no ties to official terrorism investigations.

The FBI did finally come up with procedures to try to minimize the information it was gathering on non-targets, but it took far too long, Mr. Horowitz said in the 77-page report, which comes just as Congress is trying to decide whether to extend, rewrite or entirely nix Section 215.

So, how “critical” is the Patriot Act if the FBI hasn’t found it to be of any use?

Source URL: https://rightwingnews.com/democrats/fbi-says-patriot-act-spying-powers-havent-helped-them-crack-a-single-major-case/

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