Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz announced today the release of a Procedural Reform Recommendation (PRR) for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) concerning the collection and retention of text messages sent to or from FBI-issued mobile devices. The DOJ Office of the Inspector General (OIG) releases PRRs when, through its investigative work, it identifies a systematic weakness in Justice Department operations, programs, policies, procedures, or practices, and has a recommendation to address the identified problem.
Today’s PRR arises out of the DOJ OIG’s work that resulted in the June 2018 report, A Review of Various Actions by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice in Advance of the 2016 Election, in which the OIG found significant issues with the reliability of the FBI’s application for collecting text messages sent to or from FBI mobile devices. The OIG further described these issues in its December 2018 Report of Investigation: Recovery of Text Messages from Certain FBI Mobile Devices, in which the OIG stated that it would be submitting today’s PRR to the FBI.
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