ABSTRACT
Among activists in the civil liberties movement, the propriety and constitutionality of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) domestic intelligence operations has long been a matter of concern. Committee members and staff were growing steadily more concerned that the heavy veil of secrecy covering almost everything associated with the FBI was hiding abuses of civil and constitutional rights. A number of articles appeared in the national press that were critical of the FBI and its administration. Some FBI officials suspected that General Accounting Office (GAO) staff had taken the initiative in leaking to the press, whereas GAO personnel stated that they had been responding to press inquiries. The principal recommendations stemming from the GAO report were all directed toward development of legislation to clarify the FBI role in domestic intelligence. During the review, GAO officials testified before Congress on three occasions concerning their findings and recommendations.
