It is a virtual certainty that the intel agencies of the United States government have been militarized against the American people, tossing the 4th Amendment and civil liberties to the wind. This conclusion is based on the fact that it is a foregone conclusion. Rogue agencies that operate under a veil of secrecy have continued to engage in this traditionally criminal behavior despite the fact that the law prohibits it. ⁃ TN Editor
In the updated version of its rulebook, which is the first version to be made public since the Obama administration took office, the FBI disclosed how it uses the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency to pry into the private lives of Americans without first obtaining a warrant.
The guidebook, which was modified in 2021, validates a leak that occurred a decade earlier and highlights the bureau’s coordination with the CIA and NSA for FBI investigations that may entail monitoring without court orders against individuals who have not been charged with committing any crimes. At the FBI, investigations of this kind are referred to as “assessments.”
The disclosures will provide gasoline to those who have long accused the FBI of misusing its authority to conduct surveillance on matters pertaining to national security.
It is anticipated that the newly Republican-controlled Congress would conduct a thorough investigation of the FBI’s relationship with other United States intelligence organizations that are focused on foreign threats. The House Judiciary Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence are conducting an investigation into the methods used by intelligence services to target Americans. There are plans to establish a special committee that will investigate the arming of the federal government against the people of the United States.
The 906-page rule book was written during the Trump administration and amended during the Biden administration. It contains new information regarding the FBI’s collaboration with other federal agencies as well as state and local governments. After denying pleas to make it public, the FBI has decided to make the most recent version of the Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide available online.
In the rule book for the year 2021, section 20.2 has unredacted versions of the phrases “CIA” and “NSA,” however the other elements of the section are kept secret from the general public. According to a copy of the FBI’s rule book from 2011 that was obtained by The Intercept without any redactions and was found to have been leaked, section 20.2 addresses name trace requests. Name trace requests are formal requests made by the FBI to other agencies asking them to conduct searches of their records regarding subjects of interest.
According to the rule book from 2011 that was released, the information gained from searches of CIA and NSA documents may be utilized in evaluations and investigations that are based on those searches.
According to the rule book for the year 2021, the FBI assessments are investigations of individuals and organizations that do not need allegations of crime. Instead, all that is required is an “approved purpose” and a distinct aim. Investigations are being conducted with the goals of preventing federal crimes, protecting against dangers to national security, or collecting information from other countries.
Patrick Eddington, a senior scholar at the Cato Institute, said that the new rule book demonstrates that the FBI is sure that it will not suffer penalties for the way in which it has conducted itself.
Mr. Eddington stated in an email that the FBI is continuing to conceal the fact that 1) they can and clearly do use informants to penetrate domestic civil society organizations where those informants may, either on their own or at the direction of the FBI, attempt to influence the organization’s actions. “And 2) [they] deploy searches of CIA and NSA data streams through assessments on U.S. people or civil society groups even when there is no criminal predicate,”
According to Mr. Eddington, both of these behaviors need to be forbidden by law, and this year in Congress, lawmakers will have the opportunity to make that happen.
The National Security Agency (NSA) did not want to respond and instead forwarded queries to the FBI, which likewise did not wish to comment.