FBI failings in KXL spy tactics

The FBI breached its own internal rules when it spied on campaigners against the Keystone XL pipeline, failing to get approval before it cultivated informants and opened files on individuals protesting against the construction of the pipeline in Texas, documents reveal.

Activists opposed to the Keystone XL oil pipeline were the subject of unlawful surveillance conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation for nearly a year, according to previously classified law enforcement documents.

The documents reveal that one FBI investigation, run from its Houston field office, amounted to “substantial non-compliance” of Department of Justice rules that govern how the agency should handle sensitive matters.

One FBI memo, which set out the rationale for investigating campaigners in the Houston area, touted the economic advantages of the pipeline while labelling its opponents “environmental extremists”.

Edited from various sources by Elizabeth Corner

Sources: The Guardian, RT

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/13052015/fbi-failings-in-kxl-spy-tactics/