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FBI flying surveillance aircraft over US cities; planes traced to fake companies
The FBI is operating a small air force with scores of low-flying planes across the country carrying video and, at times, cellphone surveillance technology -- all hidden behind fictitious companies that are fronts for the government, The Associated Press has learned.
The planes' surveillance equipment is generally used without a judge's approval, and the FBI said the flights are used for specific, ongoing investigations. In a recent 30-day period, the agency flew above more than 30 cities in 11 states across the country, an AP review found.
The FBI is operating a small air force with scores of low-flying planes across the country carrying video and, at times, cellphone surveillance technology -- all hidden behind fictitious companies that are fronts for the government, The Associated Press has learned.
The planes' surveillance equipment is generally used without a judge's approval, and the FBI said the flights are used for specific, ongoing investigations. In a recent 30-day period, the agency flew above more than 30 cities in 11 states across the country, an AP review found.
But the FBI makes the ludicrous claim that the program "is not secret." Then why withhold the information about it from DOJ's IG? Perhaps because the program ...
- is "warrantless," meaning the overflights are carried out without judicial review
- can gather video and metadata unrelated to ongoing investigations for possible review by local law enforcement and prosecutors
- appears to be in violation of First and Fourth Amendment guarantees, and the assumed principle of a right to privacy.