DOJ Still Won't Admit If It Took Any Action Against NSA Analysts Spying On 'Love Interests'

from the guess-what-that-means dept

In September 2013, in response to a question from Senator Chuck Grassley, the NSA revealed the 12 known cases it had on record over the past decade or so of intentional abuses of the NSA surveillance data, by individuals spying on people they clearly shouldn't have been spying on. Many of these examples were classified as "LOVEINT" (a play on the traditional SIGINT -- for signals intelligence) for people who looked up the private information of those in whom they had a romantic interest. Of course, as we've noted, many of these cases were only discovered after the people self-reported the violation -- and some of that happened years later, suggesting many such abuses go undiscovered.

The released report included examples like the following:
In 2011, before an upcoming reinvestigation polygraph, the subject reported that in 2004, "out of curiosity," he performed a SIGINT query of his home telephone number and the telephone number of his girlfriend, a foreign national. The SIGINT system prevented the query on the home number because it was made on a US person. The subject viewed the metadata returned by the query on his girlfriend's telephone.
And:
In 2005, during a pre-retirement reinvestigation polygraph and interview, the subject reported that, in 2003, he tasked SIGINT collection of the telephone number of his foreign-national girlfriend without an authorized purpose for approximately one month to determine whether she was "involved with any [local] government officials or other activities that might get [him] in trouble."
And:
In 2004, upon her return from a foreign site, the subject reported to NSA Security that, in 2004, she tasked a foreign telephone number she had discovered in her husband's cellular telephone because she suspected that her husband had been unfaithful. The tasking resulted in voice collection of her husband.
And:
In 2003, the appropriate OIG was notified that an employee had possibly violated USSID 18. A female foreign national employed by the U.S. government, with whom the subject was having sexual relations, told another government employee that she suspected that the subject was listening to her telephone calls. The other employee reported the incident.

The investigation determined that, from approximately 1998 to 2003, the employee tasked nine telephone numbers of female foreign nationals, without a valid foreign intelligence purpose, and listened to collected phone conversations while assigned to foreign locations. The subject conducted call chaining on one of the numbers and tasked the resultant numbers. He also incidentally collected the communications of a U.S. person on two occasions.
There are more like that as well. Grassley then asked the DOJ, and specifically Attorney General Eric Holder, if the DOJ took any action against these individuals who clearly broke the law in their surveillance activities. The DOJ ignored the request entirely. In January of 2014 (more than a year ago), Grassley asked Holder again during a hearing when he would receive the answer to his question, and Holder again promised he would "do that soon" and that he would provide a "fulsome response to indicate how those cases were dealt with by the Justice Department."

Well, more than a year has gone by and guess whether or not Holder fulfilled that promise? If you guessed no, you'd be right. Grassley has now sent a new letter asking just when he can actually expect an answer, and suggesting it ought to happen soon.
Recently, however, the NSA released heavily redacted quarterly and annual reports by the NSA to the President's Intelligence Oversight Board ("IOB") that also provide information about these instances of intentional and willful misconduct, as well as other violations by NSA employees, from 2001 to 2013. In its December 23, 2014 press release, NSA asserted that "in the very few cases that involved the intentional misuse of a signals intelligence system, a thorough investigation is completed, the results are reported to the IOB and the Department of Justice as required, and appropriate disciplinary or administrative action is taken." The NSA even referenced its public letter to me that discussed the twelve instances of intentional abuse by NSA employees that led me to write to you back in October 2013.

Respectfully. given the date of my original request, your prior commitment to respond "soon," and the recent release of information by the NSA that expressly relies upon the Department of Justice's further review of these matters, I believe it is appropriate that you respond to my original request without delay.
Anyone want to guess how the DOJ is likely to respond?
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Filed Under: abuses, chuck grassley, doj, loveint, nsa, surveillance


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  1. icon
    Vidiot (profile), 4 Feb 2015 @ 1:17pm

    Clever use of language

    Translation guide:

    "Tasked" = "Illegally wiretapped"

    Such cunning linguists.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 4 Feb 2015 @ 2:35pm

    I think their answer was quite clear. "Go F yourself"

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 4 Feb 2015 @ 2:38pm

    At the risk of sounding glib, Eric Holder doesn't rate as "The Honorable" AG.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    Personanongrata, 4 Feb 2015 @ 2:56pm

    Fail Upward

    Anyone want to guess how the DOJ is likely to respond?

    Everyone involved was promoted?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. icon
    yankinwaoz (profile), 4 Feb 2015 @ 3:18pm

    Not smart

    I was thinking about this. These guys were busted because they had not learned the tricks of how to spy on love interest without being detected. They were newbies.

    I suspect there are a lot of very smart guys at the NSA who know how people who do this are caught, and how to do this without being caught.

    I thought of a way on the way in this morning. What about indirect look ups? We know the NSA is allowed to have 3 to 4 hops of relationships. So don't look her up directly. Instead, look up someone who knows someone she knows. Then *voila*, your girlfriend's profile comes along for the ride.

    The NSA analyst can honestly claim he had no knowledge of the person he asked to look at.

    I'm sure they have perfected methods.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 4 Feb 2015 @ 3:25pm

    Isn't becoming disturbingly obvious that our elected officials have no power over the government.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 4 Feb 2015 @ 3:29pm

    Re: Not smart

    "So don't look her up directly. Instead, look up someone who knows someone she knows."

    Even better, using the standard agency technique of swapping intelligence you have for intelligence you want but shouldn't be caught acquiring (a la NSA-GCHQ for example), you ask a colleague (same agency or not, depending on untraceability needs) who asks a colleague who asks a colleague (repeat as necessary) who uses the n hop indirect method. Sometime you'll do a favor in return.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 4 Feb 2015 @ 3:42pm

    And this is just ONE example of abuse......ALREADY........bullshit those that say this wont be abused

    How long before were hear about the other types
    Bribery
    Blackmail
    Selling
    Buying
    Influencing
    Manipulating
    Etc etc

    BULLSHIT this extreme illegal power wont be abused

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 4 Feb 2015 @ 3:46pm

    Re:

    I think the officially established description is puppets

    Puppets on a string

    seing how the worlds run, and not how some want us to see how the worlds run, i'd say, follow the money

    link to this | view in thread ]

  10. identicon
    Zonker, 4 Feb 2015 @ 4:49pm

    Anyone want to guess how the DOJ is likely to respond?
    Obviously, the DOJ is going to respond quickly and courteously. The DOJ will formally apologize for the delay and note that this kind of behavior on their part is inexcusable with a solemn promise that it will never happen again.

    Then, Holder will describe in full detail, without redaction, precisely what actions the DOJ took against these violators. Furthermore, he will describe how they will be more proactive in the future in investigating and punishing such violations within the NSA.

    And finally, Holder will renew his solemn vow to uphold the Constitution and respect the Bill of Rights going forward. Then, you will wake up from this dream and curse loudly and profanely as you return to bitter reality.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  11. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 4 Feb 2015 @ 5:08pm

    we don't have to listen to what you peasants say. be gone before you accidently end up listed as terrorists and disappear.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  12. identicon
    hk1983, 4 Feb 2015 @ 9:51pm

    All these stories have started to make me think the Government is actually run by or are members of the Silence from Doctor Who. The certainly live up to the belief that silence will when the questions is asked.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  13. icon
    That One Guy (profile), 5 Feb 2015 @ 12:28am

    Silence says a lot

    I'd say that their silence has said plenty actually. By continually refusing to confirm that they've done anything, they have instead confirmed that they have not done anything, and in fact have no interest in doing so, ever

    link to this | view in thread ]

  14. identicon
    me, 5 Feb 2015 @ 3:45am

    Scumbags

    Covering the asses of other scumbags

    link to this | view in thread ]

  15. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 5 Feb 2015 @ 3:53am

    Re:

    Of course they want to use information to blackmail, influence and manipulate people. That's the whole point of the program.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  16. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 5 Feb 2015 @ 6:59am

    If the DOJ doesn't care that the CIA spied on Congress, wtf is it going to care if the NSA spied on regular citizens?

    link to this | view in thread ]


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