Senate panel OKs sweeping FBI subpoena powers

I'm very much afraid this this is a solution meant for political problems (dissent?) as opposed to terrorism or crime. The moral cowardice of our 'leaders' is astounding. I wonder how long it will take before people realize this is a nail in the coffin of everything the US stood for.--Dictynna

Tue Jun 7, 9:37 PM ET

The U.S. Senate intelligence committee on Tuesday sided with the White House by proposing broad new subpoena powers for the FBI to use in counterterrorism and counterintelligence investigations, officials said.

After hours of secret deliberations, the oversight panel voted 11-4 to send to the full Senate a proposal that would give the FBI the power to subpoena without judicial approval a wide range of personal documents ranging from health and library records to tax statements.

The bill would add the subpoena powers to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which governs federal investigations of foreign intelligence and terrorist activities. Officials said the FBI already exercises the same subpoena powers in criminal investigations.

The legislation approved by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence also would make permanent intelligence-related sections of the USA Patriot Act that are scheduled to expire at the end of the year.