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The FBI misused a digital foreign surveillance tool nearly 300,000 times on US citizens, including suspects in the January 6 riots and protesters at the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, according to a redacted court report multiple branches Friday, as the FBI comes under increased pressure over its policy.
According to a published report, the FBI misused a foreign tool to monitor US citizens … [+]
Key facts
A Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court report found a series of abuses of the FBI’s “interrogation procedures” between 2020 and 2021 that were “persistent and widespread” and could require potential changes in the number of FBI personnel with access to the database. intended to collect foreign intelligence under the name Section 702.
According to the report, the FBI did not disclose a foreign intelligence agency’s purpose for using the database and instead used it to collect information on American citizens, potentially shooting itself in the foot as the Biden administration hopes to restore the federal law that created it. Article 702which expires at the end of the year.
The revelation comes as the FBI grapples with increased scrutiny from the right after the release report this week from special counsel John Durham, who found that the FBI should not have opened an investigation into allegations that then-candidate Donald Trump sought information from Russia about his opponent Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election.
The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment Forbes.
This is a developing story.
Forbes – Business