CNN —The FBI improperly searched an intelligence database for information on suspects in the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot and people arrested at 2020 protests after the police killing of George Floyd, according to a court opinion that was unsealed and released Friday.
The new details about the database misuse are likely to complicate the Biden administration’s efforts to renew a key foreign surveillance program.
The FBI searches were not “reasonably likely” to retrieve foreign intelligence information or evidence of a crime, Justice Department officials who reviewed the searches concluded, according to the opinion from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which oversees US spy agencies.
Analysts at the FBI and other agencies can then search the data gathered for leads related to foreign intelligence missions.
Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said Friday that congressional action was needed to curb the privacy violations of Americans revealed by the court opinion.