Patel Shutters FBI Unit On Federal Surveillance Abuse

The New York Times reports:

Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, has closed an internal watchdog office established in 2020 to uncover and reduce the risk of misuses of national security surveillance, according to officials familiar with the matter.

The elimination of the unit, the Office of Internal Auditing, comes as Congress debates whether to reauthorize a high-profile warrantless wiretapping law, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. That law, which was a chief focus of the office, nearly collapsed last year before lawmakers extended it until April 2026.

The move is significant because it could give skeptics of the program new ammunition to argue that Congress should sharply curtail the law or even let it expire given that a guardrail has been discarded.

Read the full article.

F.B.I. Closes Unit That Policed Compliance With Surveillance Rules

The office audited the bureau’s use of a disputed warrantless wiretap law that is set to expire next spring unless Congress reauthorizes it.

W/ Adam Goldman

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/20/u…

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— Charlie Savage (@charliesavage.bsky.social) May 20, 2025 at 7:35 AM