-Caveat Lector-
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TL
Memo: FBI destroyed evidence in bin Laden case after glitch with e-
mail surveillance system
D. IAN HOPPER, AP Technology Writer
Tuesday, May 28, 2002
(05-28) 17:38 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) --
An internal FBI memo says agents destroyed evidence gathered in
an investigation involving Osama bin Laden's network after its e-
mail wiretap system mistakenly captured information to which the
agency was not entitled.
The FBI software not only picked up the e-mails of its target "but
also picked up e-mails on non-covered targets," said a March 2000
memo to agency headquarters in Washington.
"The FBI technical person was apparently so upset that he
destroyed all the e-mail take, including the take on" the suspect, the
memo said.
A Justice Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity,
said Tuesday night that the e-mails were not destroyed. The official
did not elaborate or try to reconcile the statement with the memo.
The episode was described in documents made public through a
Freedom of Information Act request filed by the Electronic Privacy
Information Center, a Washington advocacy group. The material
was not included in an original release but became public after a
federal judge ordered the bureau to give out more documents.
At issue was an investigation in Denver in which the FBI's bin Laden
unit was using the bureau's Carnivore system to conduct electronic
surveillance of a suspect under a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
Act warrant.
The suspect's name and other information identifying details of the
investigation were marked out of the letter.
The memo surfaced as the FBI was addressing concerns it
mishandled aspects of terrorism investigation prior to the Sept. 11
attacks. Those concerns include a warning from its Phoenix office
about Arab pilots training in the United States last July.
As an outgrowth of that and other much-criticized FBI actions before
the attacks, the agency is to form a new office of intelligence and
strengthen its oversight of counterterror investigations. Attorney
General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller were
expected to outline high-profile changes Wednesday at the FBI's
headquarters, including closer ties to the CIA and an overhaul of the
FBI's outdated computer systems.
FBI officials refused on Tuesday to discuss the Carnivore memo or
the investigation it referred to. They did, however, say that the bin
Laden unit at FBI headquarters handles only investigations involving
suspected activity by his terror network.
The memo shows FBI agents were worried about the fallout in the
Denver case.
The Justice Department's Office of Intelligence and Policy Review
was furious after learning the evidence captured by the e-mail
wiretap system was destroyed because of the glitch, the memo
states.
"To state that she was unhappy at ITOS (International Terrorism
Operations Center) and the UBL (bin Laden) unit is an
understatement," the memo stated, quoting a Justice official.
The memo said Justice officials worried the destruction of the
evidence would signal an "inability on the part of the FBI to manage"
the warrants that are key tools in espionage and anti-terrorism
cases.
Privacy groups and some members of Congress have complained
that Carnivore had the potential to collect more information than
allowed by a warrant.
"Here's confirmation of the fact that not only did it do that, but it
resulted in a loss of legitimately acquired intelligence," said David
Sobel, general counsel of EPIC.
To allay Congress's concerns, FBI General Counsel Larry Parkinson
testified in July 2000, "We do not deploy (Carnivore) in a way that
exceeds the court order."
The e-mail from an unnamed author to M.E. "Spike" Bowman, the
FBI's associate general counsel for national security, said Denver
agents installed the e-mail surveillance system in March 16, 2000,
but the device did not work correctly.
Henry Perritt, who led a team authorized by the FBI to review the
surveillance system, said he was surprised the technician deleted
the e-mails.
"The collection is supposed to be retained for judicial review," Perritt
said. "If an agent simply deleted a whole bunch of files without the
court instructing, that's not the way it's supposed to work."
Another document released through the privacy group's request
explains the bureau's policy for overcollection on a surveillance
warrant. The memo, dated just a week after the Denver e-mail, says
the e-mails should be kept under seal so that senior FBI officials can
figure out how the wiretap went wrong.
The unintended targets of the FBI's snooping may have deserved
notification that the mistake was made, the FBI memo said.
Authorities have used Carnivore-type tools more than 25 times in all
types of criminal cases, to catch fugitives, drug dealers, extortionists
and suspected foreign intelligence agents. Carnivore is now called
DCS-1000.
On the Net:
Electronic Privacy Information Center: www.epic.org
FBI: www.fbi.gov
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Best wishes
It's not just among Palestinians, but in other Arab nations as well,
that
school teachers, textbooks, religious leaders and even television
programming routinely teach that killing the enemies of Islam - Jews
in
particular - will earn the killer a special place in heaven.
~~The secret world of suicide bombers
Religious devotion, sexual desire drive youths to 'martyrdom'
http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=24892
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