FBI Director says FBI uses drones to spy in US
Sunday, June 23, 2013 at 03:07AM The FBI uses drones to watch specific targets within the United States, the bureau’s chief said Wednesday.
FBI Director Robert Mueller told senators the agency uses drones infrequently for surveillance in the U.S., and only in regards to specific investigations.
“Our footprint is very small,” Mueller said in testimony. “We have very few and have limited use.”
Mueller said the FBI was in “the initial stages” of developing privacy guidelines for how the agency balances civil liberty concerns with security threats.
Mueller made the revelation before the Senate Judiciary Committee after being questioned by the panel’s ranking member, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa). The news comes amid a debate over National Security Agency programs used to collect U.S. phone records and overseas Internet data.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told Mueller that she believes drones are the most dangerous threat to the privacy of Americans, particularly the use of drones by private companies.
Mueller sought to assure Feinstein that the FBI’s use of drones was “very seldom” and only used in isolated instances.
“It’s very seldom used and generally used in a particular incident where you need the capability,” said Mueller.
“It is very narrowly focused on particularized needs in particularized cases, and that is the principle of privacy limitations we have.”
Mueller said he wasn’t certain whether the FBI had any official agreements with other agencies — such as the Department of Defense or the Department of Homeland Security — to receive assistance in the agency’s use of drones.
“To the extent that it relates to the air space there would be some communication back and forth [between agencies],” Mueller said.
Mueller’s acknowledgment Wednesday comes in the wake of a series of escalating tensions between the Obama administration and Congress over the broad use of drones, both domestically and overseas.
While Mueller told lawmakers that the FBI uses drones domestically only for surveillance purposes, members have had growing concerns over the use of armed drones.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) made headlines in the lead-up to CIA Director John Brennan’s confirmation earlier this year when he delivered a 13-hour talking filibuster aimed at delaying the vote until the administration told him that it could not legally kill U.S. citizens on American soil using a drone strike, which Attorney General Eric Holder ultimately did.
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