The New York Times’ Eric Lichtblau reports that the President is entrusting the FBI to open a criminal investigation against somebody "without any clear basis for suspicion." Attorney General Michael Mukasey promises, however, that the FBI would still need a "valid purpose" for any investigation. Mukasey’s vague assurance has unsurprisingly not satiated Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, who are convening a September hearing on the FBI’s expanded powers.

What’s not clear is what extra power the FBI is getting and whether they will use it in a way that either helps solving a crime or undermines someone’s civil liberties. Lichtblau does helpfully lay out some of the controversial new powers the Bush administration has given federal investigators. Hopefully journalists and the public will know sooner than later how these tools are being used.-MB

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