Obama to let spy agencies scour Americans' finances

[OriginalShroom]

You have got to be kidding me.

EXCLUSIVE - U.S. to let spy agencies scour Americans' finances | Reuters


The Obama administration is drawing up plans to give all U.S. spy agencies full access to a massive database that contains financial data on American citizens and others who bank in the country, according to a Treasury Department document seen by Reuters.

The proposed plan represents a major step by U.S. intelligence agencies to spot and track down terrorist networks and crime syndicates by bringing together financial databanks, criminal records and military intelligence. The plan, which legal experts say is permissible under U.S. law, is nonetheless likely to trigger intense criticism from privacy advocates.

Financial institutions that operate in the United States are required by law to file reports of "suspicious customer activity," such as large money transfers or unusually structured bank accounts, to Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

The Federal Bureau of Investigation already has full access to the database. However, intelligence agencies, such as the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, currently have to make case-by-case requests for information to FinCEN.

The Treasury plan would give spy agencies the ability to analyze more raw financial data than they have ever had before, helping them look for patterns that could reveal attack plots or criminal schemes.

The planning document, dated March 4, shows that the proposal is still in its early stages of development, and it is not known when implementation might begin.

Financial institutions file more than 15 million "suspicious activity reports" every year, according to Treasury. Banks, for instance, are required to report all personal cash transactions exceeding $10,000, as well as suspected incidents of money laundering, loan fraud, computer hacking or counterfeiting.

"For these reports to be of value in detecting money laundering, they must be accessible to law enforcement, counter-terrorism agencies, financial regulators, and the intelligence community," said the Treasury planning document.

A Treasury spokesperson said U.S. law permits FinCEN to share information with intelligence agencies to help detect and thwart threats to national security, provided they adhere to safeguards outlined in the Bank Secrecy Act. "Law enforcement and intelligence community members with access to this information are bound by these safeguards," the spokesperson said in a statement.

Some privacy watchdogs expressed concern about the plan when Reuters outlined it to them.

A move like the FinCEN proposal "raises concerns as to whether people could find their information in a file as a potential terrorist suspect without having the appropriate predicate for that and find themselves potentially falsely accused," said Sharon Bradford Franklin, senior counsel for the Rule of Law Program at the Constitution Project, a non-profit watchdog group.

Despite these concerns, legal experts emphasize that this sharing of data is permissible under U.S. law. Specifically, banks' suspicious activity reporting requirements are dictated by a combination of the Bank Secrecy Act and the USA PATRIOT Act, which offer some privacy safeguards.

National security experts also maintain that a robust system for sharing criminal, financial and intelligence data among agencies will improve their ability to identify those who plan attacks on the United States.

 

[Mr. H.]

I'm cool wit it.

 

[The2ndAmendment]

And they want our guns too? They want the NDAA to?

 

[OriginalShroom]

Is there any part of our lives that Obama doesn't feel that the Government shouldn't be part of?

 

[The2ndAmendment]

The Courts stopped Obama's Lieutenant "Nanny Bloomberg" for trying to enact any legislation he wants based on "the need to protect the health of citizens."

Politics - US Message Board - Political Discussion Forum

It would have become the new "Commerce Clause" in the Constitution if they were allowed to get away with it.

 

[BecauseIKnow]

Like I said, the 'terror' card is going to be used again and again to strip of us privacy and freedoms. But I like it, we will understand know what it means to support the governments activities overseas unconditionally. It's going to bite us back and hopefully help some people wake up.

 

[Mr. H.]

Ain't no thang get over it. FBI already has unfettered access.

As for "improving their ability to identify those who plan attacks on the United States"... that does sound like a bit of a cover.

 

[whitehall]

Remember when the liberal media went crazy when they found out that the Bush administration was monitoring selected overseas calls without a warrant? They went freaking crazy. We have ten times more invasive government scrutiny today but a democrat is in the White House so there are no complaints.

 

[Mr. H.]

Remember when the liberal media went crazy when they found out that the Bush administration was monitoring selected overseas calls without a warrant? They went freaking crazy. We have ten times more invasive government scrutiny today but a democrat is in the White House so there are no complaints.

^ THIS is the quintessential definition of a Liberal.

 

[The2ndAmendment]

Doesn't this fall under the category of a General Warrant? The very thing our Founding Fathers wrote the 4th Amendment to PROTECT US FROM?

For many years, the English government had used a "general warrant" to enforce its laws. These warrants were broad in nature and did not have specifics as to why they were issued or what the arrest was being made for. A general warrant placed almost no limitations on the search or arresting authority of a soldier or sheriff. This concept had become a serious problem when those in power issued general warrants to have their enemies arrested when no wrongdoing had been done. During the mid-18th century, the English government outlawed all general warrants. This study of the history of England made the American Founding Fathers ensure that general warrants would be illegal in the United States as well when the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1791.

COME AT ME BRO

 

[RoadVirus]