Moreover, all three federal judges who actually ruled on the merits of the Bush NSA warrantless eavesdropping program concluded that it violated the law.

So why, then, was there no accountability for this systematic illegal spying? That happened for two reasons. First, both the Bush DOJ and then the Obama DOJ successfully convinced obsequious federal courts that the eavesdropping program was so secretive that national security would be harmed if courts were to adjudicate its legality — in other words, top government officials should be placed above and beyond the rule of law

Second, the Bush DOJ's most senior lawyers - Attorney General John Ashcroft, Deputy Attorney General James Comey and OLC chief Jack Goldsmith - approved a legal memorandum in 2004 endorsing radical executive power theories and warped statutory interpretations, concluding that the Bush NSA warrantless eavesdropping program was legal, thus making it more difficult to prosecute the Bush officials who ordered it (even if the Obama DOJ were inclined to prosecute, which they were not).

It was announced yesterday that this very same James Comey - who as Bush's Deputy Attorney General authorized the once-very-controversial, patently illegal Bush NSA eavesdropping program - is President Obama's choice to be the new Director of the FBI.

https://www.businessinsider.com/obamas-fbi-chief-backed-nsa-wiretapping-2013-5

J. Edgar Hoover, who made it the bureau’s mission to spy

Under Comey and the previous director, Robert Mueller, the bureau has transformed its domestic intelligence operations in the name of fighting terrorism, building up an army of some 15,000 informants and deploying those informants in recent years not only for aggressive sting operations but also to collect intelligence not tied to any particular criminal case.

The documents, one of which dates to August 2013, just before Comey was sworn in, clearly illustrate this transformation as they make the case that the FBI should maintain and expand its human intelligence (or “HUMINT”) efforts. They also show the FBI jostling for “primacy” with the CIA and other intelligence agencies.

power to conduct “assessments,” a new category of investigative activity in which agents are allowed to use invasive techniques — including physical surveillance, checking government and public databases, and tasking an informant to gather information — in situations where there was no “particular factual” reason for concern.

https://theintercept.com/2016/11/07/amid-clinton-controversy-fbi-documents-show-why-americans-should-worry-about-intelligence-gathering/

FBI Director James Comey told the government that the system is designed to help catch those employees who may have no record when they first start their jobs, but subsequently commit acts which bring them to the attention of the agencies – and employers can be notified of this in real-time.

https://www.em360tech.com/tech-news/fbi-gives-big-business-real-time-spy-data-employees/

On May 3 then-FBI director James Comey told Congress that the FBI only uses spy data without a warrant if it's 'lawfully collected, carefully overseen and checked' but new claims from a declassified FISA court suggest that is not true

The FBI also accessed protected attorney-client communications that had been intercepted without using the oversight procedures it claimed had been put in place

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4545434/FBI-shared-spy-data-Americans-despite-Comey-claims.html

In a just-revealed video, agency director James Comey admits to (and defends) the practice of using "Stingray"-type devices.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/security/a14112/the-fbi-uses-fake-cell-phone-towers-to-do-real-spying/