FBI gathered intelligence on reporters, religious orgs using 'assessment' authority, watchdog report says

"The FBI used various intelligence-gathering techniques to examine a combined group of over 1,000 journalists, religious organizations, politicians and others using an authority that allows officials to gather data on individuals without the legal grounds to pursue a criminal investigation, according to a sensitive government report obtained by Nextgov/FCW. The report, produced last month by the Government Accountability Office, is marked unclassified but for official use only."

"It measured the use of the bureau's "assessments" investigative authority between 2018 and 2024, which spanned part of the first Trump administration and the Biden administration. Authorized gathering methods for assessments include physical surveillance not requiring a court order, grand jury subpoenas for electronic communications information and confidential human sources and recruitment, according to the report. The data indicates that, even at the assessment stage, agents can deploy a wide array of investigative tools without the evidentiary thresholds required for a warrant"

"An FBI "assessment" is one of the bureau's defined investigative phases that it can open without a criminal predicate, meaning there doesn't have to be evidence of wrongdoing before activity begins. It is designed to let the FBI look into information or situations that may not yet indicate a crime or a threat, without needing to show a factual basis that a crime has been committed."

Between 2018 and 2024 the FBI used its assessments investigative phase to examine a combined group of more than 1,000 journalists, religious organizations, politicians and other individuals. Assessments can be opened without a criminal predicate and permit intelligence-gathering techniques including physical surveillance that does not require a court order, grand jury subpoenas for electronic communications information, and use or recruitment of confidential human sources. Agents can deploy a wide array of investigative tools at the assessment stage without meeting evidentiary thresholds required for warrants or other legal authorities. Use of assessments on First Amendment-protected groups raises civil liberties and oversight concerns.

Read at Nextgov.com