(UnitedVoice.com) – Does the FBI have a problem telling the truth? In 2016, the agency received authorization from the nation’s most secretive federal court to wiretap and spy on the Trump campaign. Inspector General Michael Horowitz discovered the nation’s top law enforcement agency provided false information or omitted value information to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Court. In the wake of the revelation, FBI Director Christopher Wray ordered the FBI to take over 40 corrective actions.
Statements by the FBI’s head official call the agency’s credibility into question once again despite its recent reprimand after the FISA court caught it lying just a few years ago. In testimony before Congress in the summer of 2021, Wray said the FBI had limits on what it could gather on social media before the January 6, 2021, riot on Capitol Hill, but was that true?
Did the FBI Misinform Congress?
Over the last two years, misinformation has been the keyword used by Democrats and the Biden administration to either justify an action or rebut a criticism. Now, it appears the FBI has engaged in some misinformation of its own. In an open hearing, FBI Director Wray told Congress his agency failed to prepare for the January 6 riot or prevent it because it lacked the authority to monitor social media properly.
Wray said the FBI was limited in what it could do and prohibited from monitoring social media without authorization and a good reason.
New documents obtained by Rolling Stone reveal Wray’s testimony may not have been accurate. Rolling Stone says FBI records show it engaged in widespread monitoring and tracking of Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites, well before January 6, 2021. The documents suggest the bureau had all the authority it needed. Furthermore, it appears the FBI was actually doing what Wray said they didn’t have the resources to do on or before January 6 — during the social justice riots in 2020.
Rolling Stone said the document allows law enforcement agencies to use a program called “social media exploitation,” or SOMEX. FBI teams collect data from social media and forward information to special agents.
What Is the FBI Doing?
The news outlet said a government transparency group first obtained the documents. Property of the People executive director Ryan Shapiro told Rolling Stone the FBI is more of a political police force than an objective law enforcement agency. He claimed the FBI targets the Left and ignores far-right groups. Additionally, he claimed FBI officials lie regularly and said the nation’s leading law enforcement agency exploits national crises to expand its surveillance.
The FBI told Rolling Stone it uses social media tools to search public information to determine future threats of violence or terrorism. The agency said it routinely updates its capabilities to search on social media under the law.
So, did the FBI call into question its credibility yet again?
You decide.
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