Congress should keep pressure on FBI

Arecent report from the Justice Department’s internal watchdog adds new and disturbing detail to its previous criticism of the FBI for cutting legal corners to obtain telephone records of U.S. citizens. As with past evidence of wrongdoing, the bureau insists that it has changed its ways, but senators rightly are pressing the Obama administration to close a possible loophole that could allow future abuses.

In the aftermath of 9/11, between 2002 and 2006, FBI agents obtained thousands of calling records without following legal procedures. Nor were all the violations examples of unintentionally failing to cross a bureaucratic “T” or dot a technical “I.” Some agents clearly regarded legal constraints on their actions as nuisances to be ignored.

In its third report on the subject in three years, the Office of the Inspector General describes an “egregious breakdown” in oversight. It details how agents abused “exigent letters” -- a device for obtaining records in an emergency -- and informally elicited information from compliant employees of telephone companies, requesting records through e-mails or by scribbles on Post-it notes. Sometimes investigators engaged in “sneak peeks” of confidential records in which they looked over the employees’ shoulders at their computer screens. The FBI also made inaccurate statements about its use of exigent letters in court filings.

According to Inspector General Glenn A. Fine, the relationship between the FBI and the telephone companies was so intimate that company representatives were stationed in FBI communications centers. Thus firms with access to sensitive personal information were essentially partners with a powerful law enforcement agency in violation of Americans’ privacy rights. The FBI insists that errors were unintentional and that improperly obtained information will be sealed or destroyed. But that doesn’t alter the offensiveness of skirting procedure.

The inspector general’s latest report concludes with specific recommendations -- including additional training and greater scrutiny of contracts with telecommunications firms -- to ensure that both the bureau and the companies abide by privacy laws. It also recommends the FBI consider disciplinary action for those who ignored or violated the law. Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. should implement these recommendations.

Finally, the report suggests that the Justice Department may be reserving the right of the FBI to inspect telephone records “without legal process or a qualifying emergency.” Several senators have rightly asked Holder to share a Jan. 8 memo that apparently outlines such an exception. Holder should comply. Congress needs to make sure for itself that the FBI is not being encouraged to return to its old ways.