Official called the violations “unintentional.”
FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate told Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that the FBI conducted around 278,000 “unintentional” searches on Americans between 2020 and 2021.
Abbate’s estimate confirms a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court report that described rampant FBI misuse of its surveillance powers against American citizens.
Abbate’s testimony comes as the FBI continues to withhold documents from another congressional committee relevant to the ongoing bribery investigation of President Joe Biden.
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