The Justice Department is imposing new restrictions on how it conducts any secret national security surveillance of candidates for federal offices or their staff
By
ERIC TUCKER Associated Press
September 1, 2020, 4:11 PM
• 1 min read
Share to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this articleWASHINGTON -- The Justice Department is imposing new restrictions on how it conducts any secret national security surveillance of candidates for federal office or their staff.
The restrictions, announced by Attorney General William Barr in a pair of memos issued Tuesday, are part of broader changes to the Justice Department's surveillance procedures that have been implemented in response to problems detected during the Russia investigation four years ago.
One new policy would require the FBI to consider briefing a candidate or staffer that the person is at risk of being compromised by a foreign power before applying for a warrant from the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to eavesdrop on their communications.
The FBI in 2016 and 2017 applied for warrants to monitor former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, but a Justice Department inspector general report has identified errors and omissions in each of those applications.
