Exclusive: IRS Manual Detailed DEA's Use of Hidden Intel Evidence

[Hissyspit]

Source: Reuters

Exclusive: IRS manual detailed DEA's use of hidden intel evidence

By John Shiffman and David Ingram
WASHINGTON | Wed Aug 7, 2013 6:23pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Details of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration program that feeds tips to federal agents and then instructs them to alter the investigative trail were published in a manual used by agents of the Internal Revenue Service for two years.

The practice of recreating the investigative trail, highly criticized by former prosecutors and defense lawyers after Reuters reported it this week, is now under review by the Justice Department. Two high-profile Republicans have also raised questions about the procedure.

A 350-word entry in the Internal Revenue Manual instructed agents of the U.S. tax agency to omit any reference to tips supplied by the DEA's Special Operations Division, especially from affidavits, court proceedings or investigative files. The entry was published and posted online in 2005 and 2006, and was removed in early 2007. The IRS is among two dozen arms of the government working with the Special Operations Division, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency.

An IRS spokesman had no comment on the entry or on why it was removed from the manual. Reuters recovered the previous editions from the archives of the Westlaw legal database, which is owned by Thomson Reuters Corp, the parent of this news agency.

As Reuters reported Monday, the Special Operations Division of the DEA funnels information from overseas NSA intercepts, domestic wiretaps, informants and a large DEA database of telephone records to authorities nationwide to help them launch criminal investigations of Americans. The DEA phone database is distinct from a NSA database disclosed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE9761AZ20130807

[Scuba]

1. But, but, there's absolutely no evidence of any spying on Americans. Read that right here on DU.

[riderinthestorm]

2. Kicking for someone to come make Sense of all of this...

(cough).

Big K&R

[Jackpine Radical]

3. I can arely wait to find out the truth--

We need some randome bits of wisdom to help us out.

[Puzzledtraveller]

6. Bravo!

Both of you, well done. I love it!

and so true!!

[ProSense]

10. Oooh, man. That was some friggin clever stuff.

Subtle, but silly!

[Jackpine Radical]

14. So happy you liked it.

[ProSense]

9. I know. There is nothing

The entry was published and posted online in 2005 and 2006, and was removed in early 2007. The IRS is among two dozen arms of the government working with the Special Operations Division, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency...Reuters recovered the previous editions from the archives of the Westlaw legal database, which is owned by Thomson Reuters Corp, the parent of this news agency.

...like breaking news.

Maybe the Bush administration can clear things up, and then people can focus on this administration's policies.

U.S. Spy Program Lifts Veil in Court

Justice Department Says Prosecution in Terrorist Cases Must Tell Defendants When Surveillance Program Was Used

By DEVLIN BARRETT

The Justice Department acknowledged for the first time in a terrorism prosecution that it needs to tell defendants when sweeping government surveillance is used to build a criminal case against them.

The about-face, contained in a Tuesday court filing, marks another way in which the Obama administration is adjusting to revelations by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden about phone and Internet surveillance by the NSA. The revelations forced the government to acknowledge publicly aspects of its widespread collection of Internet and phone records, giving critics of such surveillance more legal ammunition to challenge the programs.

The filing suggests a new potential avenue for legal challenges to the surveillance programs.

<...>

Patrick Toomey, a lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union, called the filing "a very important first step, because it's the government finally owning up to some of its obligations in a way that it hasn't really grappled with up to this point.'' The Justice Department didn't immediately comment.

The change in legal direction also brings government prosecutors in line with statements Solicitor General Donald Verrilli made to the Supreme Court last year...that in cases where a bulk surveillance program led to evidence against criminal defendants in court, those suspects must be notified that the evidence was derived from the surveillance program.

His assertion was an important one, because the high court ultimately adopted his characterization of when notification was required.

- more -

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323854904578638363001746552.html

Note this article appeared a week before the Reuters piece on SOD. It also indicates that this is a position that Solicitor General Donald Verrilli took last year.

[sigmasix]

13. but, but this doesn't fit the ODS narrative!

This doesn't dovetail with the ODS narrative that claims president Obama is worse than bush and is spying on every American all the time! This can't be right, can it? I mean the right wing media has gone to a lot of trouble putting together talking points filled with hyperbole and lies about president Obama. Dont you realize that this rebuttal from prosense will now attract any number of individuals that are just so darn sure that president Obama is a treasonous liar. It seems that thinking for one's self about this crap is blase'. Everyone must believe in the matrix or accept thier role as sheeple, right?

[WillyT]

4. K & R !!!

[Solly Mack]

5. K&R

[Puzzledtraveller]

7. k&r

[Octafish]

8. A professor of Constitutional Law. Right.

[TheDebbieDee]

11. The data was removed from the IRM in early 2007........

Sen. Obama hadn't even decided to run for the office of President yet.......

[Octafish]

12. Thank you for the kind clarification.

Reading that the NSA take was being used by the IRS and the DEA made me assume he thought it was still OK. Secret laws, Just-Us, blowing up American kids without trial by drone, persecuting whistleblowers, letting banksters go scot-free and all that got to me, too.

[cstanleytech]

15. Mmm the NSA is still working with the FBI though.

http://blogs.computerworld.com/tor-onion-router-nsa-fbi-child-porn-22598-itbwcw

[Octafish]

19. Glad they use it to get some crooks.

The system does seem to miss the big fish, like all the friends of Coach Jerry Sandusky and in Pommyland, the royal and aristocratic relations of Jimmy Savile.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

16. Upset? This was obstruction of justice, an activity that is sometimes considered a crime.

[Warren Stupidity]

17. Where are the memo-whisperers? I need my talking points of refutation.

[Hissyspit]

18. kick nt

[quadrature]

20. there is no obstruction of justice here, absolutely none,

and when I say none,
I mean there is a certain amount.