FBI Documents Expose Bureau's Big Jan. 6 'Lie'

[alwaysinasnit]

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/jan6-fbi-social-media-privacy-black-lives-matter-1337565/

In the aftermath of the Jan. 6 insurrection, the FBI told Congress and the American people that the agency had failed to prevent or fully prepare for the worst attack on the U.S. Capitol in more than 200 years in part because it lacked the authority and capabilities to more aggressively monitor social media, where much of the planning for the insurrection took place.

As FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress last summer, the FBI had circulated intelligence materials and other resources before Jan. 6, but the agency had limits in what it could and couldn’t gather from social media. “When we have an authorized purpose and proper predication, there are a lot of things that we do at social media and we do do,” Wray said, “but [what] we cannot do on social media is, without proper predication and authorized purpose, just monitor just in case on social media.”

Wray added, “Now, if the policies should be changed to reflect that, that might be one of the important lessons learned coming out of this whole experience. But that’s not something that currently the FBI has either the authority or certainly the resources, frankly, to do.” Since Wray’s testimony, the bureau has sought to ramp up its online surveillance capabilities, including by entering into one of the largest social-media monitoring contracts of any federal agency.

Yet internal FBI records obtained by Rolling Stone show that, well before Jan. 6, the bureau already engaged in ongoing and widespread tracking of Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, and other social-media platforms. The new documents suggest the agency has all the authority it needs to monitor the social-media platforms in the name of public safety — and, in fact, the bureau had done just that during the nationwide wave of racial justice protests in 2020. Critics of the FBI say that the bureau’s desire for more authority and surveillance tools is part of a decades-long expansion of the vast security apparatus inside the federal government.

snip...

[RockRaven]

1. Wray lied? Oh my! Didn't see that coming!!!

[lagomorph777]

2. He's a Trump appointee.

'nuff said.

[dlk]

3. FBI director Wray is a Republican and a member of the Federalist Society

n/t

[onecaliberal]

4. He needs to go.

[dlk]

5. There's a reason Democrats keep him there

Hard to say why.

[onecaliberal]

6. I love to know the reason.

[dlk]

7. Yes, it must be a really good one

[onecaliberal]

10. The best reason.

[OnDoutside]

13. Probably because, ironically, they fear they'd be accused of bias !

[dlk]

21. Which Republicans will do anyway

n/t

[Achilleaze]

8. I knew trouble was coming. Everyone knew trouble was coming.

TFG and his Republican goons shut down as many avenues of response (defense of America) as they could. Obviously the FBI was complicit in this vile shit.

Time for Wray to go. Incompetence? Dereliction of duty? Or worse? Don't matter. He needs to go.

[2naSalit]

12. He's way past his expiration date.

He should not complete his term. He should have resigned by now.

They have the tools they need, it's all about what they do with them that's the problem.

I also suspect that he's the reason all these investigations get slow-walked to their respective places under the rug.

[Baitball Blogger]

9. Our duplicitous FBI

[czarjak]

11. Back the Blue? They make it hard sometimes.

[MagickMuffin]

14. FBI Director Christopher Wray was part of the Coup

He's a danger to our Democracy!

[gratuitous]

15. What the FBI is really asking here

Is an unfettered hand to go on countless fishing expeditions, something they've wanted since Hoover's time. President after President came and went under Hoover, and almost to a man during his 50 year reign of terror, the new President would go to pay homage to the loathsome spider sitting at the black heart of federal law enforcement, and to ascertain if Hoover would share some information from those "confidential" files it was rumored he had.

Hoover would demur: Confidential files? Whatever do you mean, Mr. President? If I had such things, it would surely be illegal to have gathered and kept such information. Unless . . .

Unless what, Mr. Hoover?

Unless you'd care to sign this executive order (that I just happen to have all drawn up nice and neat for no particular reason) authorizing me to gather and retain information obtained by methods that some might consider highly illegal, and then I'd be happy to share any information I might have, which of course I don't have.

You can hear J. Edgar's voice as Wray says:

“When we have an authorized purpose and proper predication, there are a lot of things that we do at social media and we do do,” Wray said, “but [what] we cannot do on social media is, without proper predication and authorized purpose, just monitor just in case on social media.”

Wray added, “Now, if the policies should be changed to reflect that, that might be one of the important lessons learned coming out of this whole experience."

[meow2u3]

16. Biden needs to fire Chris Wray

He's putting a political thumb on the scale of justice, ignoring or even enabling the far right violence against Americans while pursuing liberals to the point of persecution. If this isn't cause for dismissal, what is?

[twodogsbarking]

17. Really seems like they knew about it.

[Snackshack]

18. The FBI...

Continues to exemplify the critical and on going need to re-assess it existence. After dropping the ball on several incidents and pretty much stepping front and center into a presidential election, basically handing it to DT. A man who is responsible for the largest single death event in our nations history over 1 million Americans have been lost to COVID and DT openly admitted on tape he lied about.

The FBI either needs to have a top down reformation or potentially EOL’d.

[pecosbob]

19. I think I've come full circle back to my old 1976 self...eff the FBI.

If King for a day the entire DOJ would be demolished to make way for a new structure, from DHS all the way to CBP.

[uponit7771]

20. Fuck Chris Ray