And the amount of information available is so much broader than anything J. Edgar Hoover could have imagined.”
The watchdog’s report details a list of methods deployed by the FBI against Americans not accused of any crime: physical surveillance; subpoenas to electronic communication and computing services; use and recruitment of confidential human sources; use of online services obtained or purchased by the FBI; and info from local, state, federal and foreign government sources.
The troves of data obtained through assessments targeting individuals and groups — also known as Type I/II assessments — usually produced no investigative leads.