1.) this blog is not legal advice; 2.) all views expressed are my own and not those of my employer(s) past, present, or future.CRS Report on FBI intelligence gathering
As fas.org notes, there is a remarkable quote in this report:
“Intelligence activity in the past decades has, all too often, exceeded the restraints on the exercise of governmental power that are imposed by our country’s Constitution, laws, and traditions,” according to the Congressional Research Service.
The CRS, which shuns polemical claims, presents that assertion as a simple statement of fact (although cautiously sourced to the 1976 Church Committee report) in a newly updated report on FBI terrorism investigations.
The report reviews the FBI investigative process, the statutory framework within which it operates, and the tools at its disposal, along with oversight considerations for Congress. See The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Terrorism Investigations, April 24, 2013.