FBI overzealousness greater than thought

WASHINGTON, June 14 (UPI) -- An internal FBI audit in Washington found more than 1,000 incidents in which agents broke the law or agency rules in counter-terrorism since 2002.

FBI General Counsel Valerie Caproni said the most recent audit covered 10 percent of investigations, which was a much larger sample of cases examined by the Department of Justice in March, which reported 22 violations, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

The majority of violations in the latest audit involved National Security Letters issued to telephone companies and Internet providers. The letters are non-negotiable demands for personal information in the interest of national security and are not reviewed in advance by a judge.

"The FBI's comprehensive audit of National Security Letter use across all field offices has confirmed the inspector general's findings that we had inadequate internal controls for use of an invaluable investigative tool," Caproni said in the Post report. "Since March, remedies addressing every aspect of the problem have been implemented or are well on the way."