drone
01-10-2008, 21:56
I thought this was pretty funny. Apparently, the administration is more than willing to push for telco immunity in the illegal wiretapping fiasco, them being patriotic American corporations and all. However, the FBI apparently hasn't been paying all of it's wiretap bills and the telcos are shutting them down.
Phone companies cut FBI wiretaps due to unpaid bills (http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/10/fbi.unpaid.phone.bills.ap/index.html)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Telephone companies have cut off FBI wiretaps used to eavesdrop on suspected criminals because of the bureau's repeated failures to pay phone bills on time.
A Justice Department audit released Thursday blamed the lost connections on the FBI's lax oversight of money used in undercover investigations. Poor supervision of the program also allowed one agent to steal $25,000, the audit said.
In at least one case, a wiretap used in a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act investigation "was halted due to untimely payment," the audit found. FISA wiretaps are used in the government's most sensitive and secretive criminal investigations, and allow eavesdropping on suspected terrorists or spies.
"We also found that late payments have resulted in telecommunications carriers actually disconnecting phone lines established to deliver surveillance results to the FBI, resulting in lost evidence," according to the audit by Inspector General Glenn A. Fine.
Wiretaps appear to be good moneymakers for telcos, no wonder they agreed to go along with the warrantless taps. Up to $2200/month per tap for little work, not too shabby.
http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/reports/FBI/a0613/findings.htm#IV
Aside from the fact that legal taps are being shut off (threatening ongoing investigations) due to mismanagement and lack of oversight, this brings up a lot of questions about motives. Did the telcos just look at the dollar signs when the administration first decided to implement the program? Was secrecy/immunity promised back then, or was it an afterthought after the scandal broke? How much have the telcos been paid through the program? What exactly is going on in the Bureau, and why hasn't anyone been fired yet?
And, yes, I do hate freedom.
Phone companies cut FBI wiretaps due to unpaid bills (http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/10/fbi.unpaid.phone.bills.ap/index.html)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Telephone companies have cut off FBI wiretaps used to eavesdrop on suspected criminals because of the bureau's repeated failures to pay phone bills on time.
A Justice Department audit released Thursday blamed the lost connections on the FBI's lax oversight of money used in undercover investigations. Poor supervision of the program also allowed one agent to steal $25,000, the audit said.
In at least one case, a wiretap used in a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act investigation "was halted due to untimely payment," the audit found. FISA wiretaps are used in the government's most sensitive and secretive criminal investigations, and allow eavesdropping on suspected terrorists or spies.
"We also found that late payments have resulted in telecommunications carriers actually disconnecting phone lines established to deliver surveillance results to the FBI, resulting in lost evidence," according to the audit by Inspector General Glenn A. Fine.
Wiretaps appear to be good moneymakers for telcos, no wonder they agreed to go along with the warrantless taps. Up to $2200/month per tap for little work, not too shabby.
http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/reports/FBI/a0613/findings.htm#IV
Aside from the fact that legal taps are being shut off (threatening ongoing investigations) due to mismanagement and lack of oversight, this brings up a lot of questions about motives. Did the telcos just look at the dollar signs when the administration first decided to implement the program? Was secrecy/immunity promised back then, or was it an afterthought after the scandal broke? How much have the telcos been paid through the program? What exactly is going on in the Bureau, and why hasn't anyone been fired yet?
And, yes, I do hate freedom.