Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 13, 1990 TAG: 9004130961
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A/7 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
"This would give far too much power to individual FBI agents," said Rep. Don Edwards, chairman of the House Judiciary subcommittee on civil and constitutional rights and a former agent himself.
"It's every agent's dream but it's subject to too much abuse," the California Democrat said Thursday.
Justice Department spokesman David Runkel said prosecutors who have been discussing the proposal with the FBI are concerned the proposed expanded powers might go too far.
Under the proposal, FBI agents would be allowed to seize documents such as office and bank files and other records without a grand jury subpoena issued through a Justice Department prosecutor and without a search warrant. They would need only an administrative summons that they could issue on their own.
However, law enforcement officials still would have to obtain a court-approved search warrant before they could enter a person's home or office without the person's approval.
Colleen O'Connor of the American Civil Liberties Union criticized the proposal, saying, "If the Justice Department goes in that direction, we don't expect it to last long without a court challenge.
"We've seen a pattern of the government attempting to change its own rules of operating . . . and this is another indication of it," she said. "That's why we have courts."
The comments followed a New York Times report Thursday.
The FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration got the expanded authority for drug investigations several years ago.
In 1987, the FBI also got the right to secretly obtain bank records without a warrant in investigations of foreign spies upon certification by the FBI director.
"At this point, we're exploring the possibility of extending that to other criminal matters," said FBI spokesman Mike Kortan.
The FBI believes such authority, carefully limited by statute and regulations, "would be a useful investigative tool which would not pose any threat to individual privacy," Kortan said.
He said the expanded authority would save time during investigations, eliminating the need for agents to travel long distances to secure a subpoena.
The FBI first proposed the expansion of authority in 1988, said a congressional source who spoke on condition of anonymity.
by CNB