{"id":188009,"date":"2021-03-03T09:15:23","date_gmt":"2021-03-03T14:15:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=188009"},"modified":"2021-03-03T09:26:09","modified_gmt":"2021-03-03T14:26:09","slug":"wray-declines-to-confirm-fbis-use-of-geolocation-data-to-track-capitol-rioters-but-says-it-would-not-surprise-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wray-declines-to-confirm-fbis-use-of-geolocation-data-to-track-capitol-rioters-but-says-it-would-not-surprise-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Wray Declines to Confirm FBI\u2019s Use of Geolocation Data to Track Capitol Rioters But Says It \u2018Would Not Surprise Me\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">40<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwray-declines-to-confirm-fbis-use-of-geolocation-data-to-track-capitol-rioters-but-says-it-would-not-surprise-me%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=188009&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>FBI Director <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-christopher-wray\">Christopher Wray<\/a> told a Senate hearing Tuesday that while he could not confirm that the agency was using geolocation data to track Capitol rioters, he said the nature of the investigation is such that it \u201cwould not surprise me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wray made the remarks at a hearing of the\u00a0 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, in response to a line of inquiry by Sens. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-mike-lee\">Mike Lee<\/a> (R-Utah) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-josh-hawley\">Josh Hawley<\/a> (R-Mo.), who pressed the FBI director about\u00a0the methods federal law enforcement officials have been using to track people who took part in the Jan. 6 Capitol breach.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m anxious to see those who committed unlawful violent acts on January 6th brought to justice,\u201d Lee said. \u201cI also believe that with this circumstance, like every other circumstance, we have to make sure that the civil liberties of the American people are protected, that we watch over them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-3674209\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/capitol-clash-1200x800-1.jpg\" alt=\"capitol\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Protesters clash with police at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (Julio Cortez\/AP Photo)<\/p>\n<p>Lee said he has heard a number of accounts of people who were present in Washington, \u201cbut never got anywhere near the Capitol or any violence on January 6th, who have inexplicably been contacted by the FBI, by agents who apparently were aware of their presence in Washington, DC, that day with no other explanation, perhaps other than the use of geolocation data.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWere you geolocating people through the FBI based on where they were on January 6th?\u201d Lee asked.<\/p>\n<p>Wray replied by saying that\u00a0\u201cthere may be some instances in which geolocation has been an investigative tool, but I can\u2019t speak to any specific situation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lee pressed Wray on the legal basis for the FBI to use geolocation data, specifying whether (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act)\u00a0FISA courts were involved, which the FBI director denied.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll of our investigative work in response to the capital has been under the legal authorities that we have in consultation with the department and the prosecutors at that point,\u201d Wray said.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-3603272\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/MIke-Lee-senator-1200x800-1.jpg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) speaks during a hearing in Washington, on Oct. 12, 2020. (Erin Schaff-Pool\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>The Utah senator continued to press Wray on the issue, asking if there were \u201cinstances in which you\u2019re interviewing people based solely on information derived from a telecommunications provider, providing geolocation information, indicating that they were on or near the national monument mall on January 6th?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Citing a \u201cmassive nationwide investigation involving thousands and thousands of interviews,\u201d Wray declined to confirm whether any of the probes were predicated on geolocation data.<\/p>\n<p>Lee appeared reluctant to accept Wray\u2019s reply and expressed concern about the FBI\u2019s investigative methods.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLiterally over the last 10 years, the entire 10 years I\u2019ve served as a member of this committee and as a member of the United States Senate, I\u2019ve been told fairly consistent answers under different FBI directors and different presidential administrations run by different parties. But the most consistent theme in those answers has been, \u2018Just trust us. Don\u2019t worry. We\u2019ve got good people, smart people, law abiding people who were running this, and we\u2019ve got procedural safeguards in place to prevent the type of abuse that you\u2019re concerned about,&#8217;\u201d Lee said.<\/p>\n<p>The Utah senator then referred to a report by Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/storage\/120919-examination.pdf\">pdf<\/a>) in the wake of a probe into the origins of the FBI\u2019s investigation into allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election, in which the watchdog criticized the FBI for a number of significant oversights and missteps.<\/p>\n<p>Wray responded by saying that, in response to Horowitz\u2019 report, he ordered \u201cover 40 corrective actions to go above and beyond\u201d the recommendations of the report, and that those have been implemented.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThose include everything from strengthening our procedures to ensure accuracy and completeness, to make sure the court gets all the information it\u2019s supposed to, changes in our protocols for CHS, confidential human sources, training changes. I created a new office of internal audit that specifically focused on FISA auditing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Lee acknowledged that the reforms have been \u201chelpful,\u201d but that further statutory measures were needed as the FBI could \u201cchoose to depart\u201d from their internal guidance \u201cat any moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He recommended \u201cincreasing the standard for warrants under Section 215 to require a probable cause and requiring a probable cause warrant to obtain internet search history, internet browsing, history, and geolocation information\u201d and asked whether Wray would support such reforms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell, Senator I\u2019d be happy to work with you to provide operational assessment of the impact of different legislative ideas. Certainly, we view our responsibility as not just to protect the American people, but also to uphold the Constitution, and we say that every day in the FBI,\u201d Wray said.<\/p>\n<p>Later in the hearing, Hawley pressed Wray on what he knows about the FBI\u2019s use of geolocation data in its probes of the Capitol breach.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you saying \u2026 you don\u2019t know whether the bureau has scooped up geolocation data, metadata cellphone records from cellphone towers?\u201d Hawley asked. \u201cDo you not know, or are you saying maybe it has or maybe it hasn\u2019t? Tell me what you know about this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-3638840\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/josh-hawley-3-1200x800-1.jpg\" alt=\"Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) asks questions\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) asks questions during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing to discuss election security and the 2020 election process in Washington on Dec. 16, 2020. (Greg Nash-Pool\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>Wray said he does not \u201cknow for a fact that we were using geolocation data under any situation in connection with investigation into the 6th,\u201d but added that he would \u201cnot be surprised to learn\u201d that the FBI has been resorting to such methods.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAgain, we do use geolocation data under specific authorities and specific instances,\u201d Wray said. \u201cBecause this is such a sprawling investigation, that would not surprise me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wray added that, given \u201cthe sprawl and size of the investigation\u201d he would not provide any specifics regarding the use of the data, adding, \u201cand certainly not in a congressional hearing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The FBI and the Justice Department have been investigating the Capitol breach, and hundreds of people have been arrested for their role in the incident.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FBI Director Christopher Wray told a Senate hearing Tuesday that while he could not confirm that the agency was using geolocation data to track Capitol rioters, he said the nature &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2274647,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/capitol-clash-1200x800-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Wray Declines to Confirm FBI\u2019s Use of Geolocation Data to Track Capitol Rioters But Says It \u2018Would Not Surprise Me\u2019","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-188009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/capitol-clash-1200x800-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Wray Declines to Confirm FBI\u2019s Use of Geolocation Data to Track Capitol Rioters But Says It \u2018Would Not Surprise Me\u2019","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188009"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188009\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2274647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}