New report alleges that FBI broke law to collect phone data

A report in the Washington Post has alleged that the Federal Bureau of Investigation broke the law in collecting more than 2,000 telephone call records between 2002 and 2006 by invoking terrorism emergencies that did not exist or by persuading phone companies to provide them, in the US.

The FBI officials tried to justify their actions by issuing approvals afterwards.

"This practice ceased in 2006 and never involved obtaining the content of telephone conversations. Additionally, steps have been taken to ensure similar situations do not occur in the future," said FBI spokesman Michael Kortan.

The post claimed that it has accessed the emails which proved that counterterrorism officials did not follow procedures aimed at protecting civil liberties.

The newspaper said that a report by a Justice Department inspector general is to be submitted this month and FBI officials have agreed that it will conclude that laws were broken frequently by the FBI.

The post also named FBI Special Agent Bassem Youssef as one of the members who raised voice against the practice of his seniors. Youssef had earlier filed case against what he alleged was denying promotion on ethnic grounds.

FBI general counsel Valerie Caproni said that the FBI technically violated the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. She also said that the FBI Director Robert Mueller was not aware of the problems until the inspector general's investigation began in 2006.

The spokesperson also expressed, "No FBI employee used informal methods to obtain telephone records for reasons other than a legitimate investigative interest."

The phone companies had asked the FBI to provide documentation proving searches were legal. However, the letters were termed national security letters and allowed the FBI to obtain records without obtaining a formal authorization for search.