washingtonpost: FBI Search Warrant Policy Changed for Terror Cases
The FBI is set to change its policy on FISA warrants in order to review applications rejected within the Bureau. Note that while the FBI sometimes rejects applications before they are heard, once a request reaches the FISA court it is almost certain to be approved – since 1978, the court has only ever rejected one request.
Federal and local officials familiar with the new policy said search warrants sought under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) will be quickly routed to Dale Watson, the FBI’s chief of counterterrorism and counterintelligence, and to Mueller if the application is rejected by a mid-level supervisor. Rowley complained that a middle manager had stymied her division’s efforts in the Moussaoui investigation.In the past, the director reviewed FISA applications only if they had been approved at a lower level.
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FISA warrants are approved by a special court of rotating judges that sits in Washington. Previously, the FBI director signed off on all FISA warrant applications but did not review applications rejected inside headquarters.