Letter to Hon. Christopher Wray, Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation - Grassley Presses TSA, FBI On Work With "Rogue' Unauthorized Commerce Dept. Law Enforcement, Intelligence Unit

Letter

Dear Director Wray:
On June 9, 2021, I wrote to you requesting information relating to the FBI's relationship
with the Department of Commerce's (DOC) Investigations and Threat Management Service
(ITMS). As I noted in my letter, I am concerned about ITMS's rogue intelligence and law
enforcement activity. On September 3, 2021, the DOC Office of General Counsel released a
report titled, "Report of the Programmatic Review of the Investigations and Threat Management
Service."1
In the report, the DOC found that ITMS did not possess adequate legal authority to
investigate an array of criminal activity it sought to address.2
For example, ITMS neither had the
authority to submit or execute search warrants nor conduct counterintelligence investigations, yet
it did so anyway.3
As a result of the totality of ITMS's conduct, the DOC recommended the
elimination of the entire ITMS unit and to redistribute the remaining responsibilities to other
units within the DOC.4
On August 27, 2021, you provided a response to my June 9, 2021, letter. In your letter,
you stated that the FBI participated in ITMS-led briefings "regarding ongoing cybersecurity
concerns and potential investigative cases" with respect to the 2020 Census. However, your
letter failed to provide any detail or context with respect to those concerns and cases. In
addition, your letter noted that the FBI provided "analytical and investigative assistance to
ITMS" but failed to provide any detail with respect to those efforts.
Moreover, your letter also noted that the FBI "passively receives criminal referrals from
ITMS" but failed to provide any documentation or information relating to those criminal
referrals.

In light of ITMS's brazen use of false authority to conduct law enforcement and
intelligence activity and the clear relationship between the FBI and ITMS, please answer the
following no later than October 27, 2021:
1. A list of all briefings FBI attended with ITMS relating to "ongoing cybersecurity
concerns and potential investigative cases" with respect to the 2020 Census. In the
list, please provide the date the briefing took place, the title, the subject matter to be
discussed, attendees and all supporting documentation. If the FBI participated in
briefings or similar activity with ITMS outside the scope of "ongoing cybersecurity
concerns" and "potential investigative cases" relating to the 2020 Census please
provide the same information.
2. With respect to the FBI's provision of "analytical and investigative assistance to
ITMS," please describe, in detail, what that assistance was for, when the assistance
was provided, what assistance was provided and all supporting documentation.
3. With respect to your statement that the FBI "passively receives criminal referrals
from ITMS," please describe the process and purpose for which FBI receives these
"passive criminal referrals." In addition, please provide a list of all criminal referrals,
passive or otherwise, that ITMS provided to the FBI and a description of the activity
that the FBI engaged in with respect to each referral.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,

Source