FBI Implements New Policies and Reforms Following Unlawful Searches of U.S. Senator and State Officials

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a declassified opinion from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) on Friday, April 2023, revealing that FBI analysts had conducted improper searches on a U.S. senator and two state officials using a foreign intelligence database.

The opinion, which was issued by the chief judge of the FISC, stated that FBI employees had wrongly searched foreign surveillance data for the last names of a U.S. senator and a state senator. Additionally, another FBI employee had improperly queried the Social Security number of a state judge who had alleged civil rights violations by a municipal chief of police.

The opinion comes as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the legal provision that allows U.S. intelligence agencies to conduct electronic surveillance, is set to expire at the end of this year. In response to the errors revealed by the opinion, the FBI has put in place new policies to prevent similar mistakes from occurring in the future.

The new policies include wide-ranging procedural and accountability reforms, such as increased oversight and training for FBI analysts. The FBI has also implemented a system of checks and balances to ensure that analysts are following the new policies correctly.

The opinion highlights the importance of the FBI’s new policies and reforms, and serves as a reminder of the need for continued vigilance in order to protect the privacy of U.S. citizens. The FBI is committed to ensuring that its analysts adhere to the new policies and procedures, and will continue to monitor their compliance.