DOJ Report Faults FBI Over Mayfield Fingerprints
A 330 page report (pdf version here) by the Inspector General for the Department of Justice was released yesterday on the FBI's erroneous fingerprint analysis in the Brandon Mayfield case. Mayfield is the Oregon attorney who was detained pursuant to a material witness warrant after the Madrid, Spain train bombings.
In addition to criticizing the FBI for its errors in fingerprint analysis, the report examines the role of the Patriot Act in the investigation. The enhancement of Government power in the Patriot Act did contribute to the unjust treatment of Mayfield....and but for some of its provisions, a different result might have been obtained. While finding that the Patriot Act changes to FISA did not contribute to the errors, other provisions did, specifically those that (1) allow information sharing between intelligence and law enforcement agencies and (2) provide for relaxed standards for the issuance of National Security letters. (See page 14.)
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