The FBI has come under fire after quietly shutting down a key internal watchdog office tasked with monitoring the agency’s use of one of its most controversial surveillance tools. The closure has reignited long-standing concerns over the FBI’s accountability and the potential for unchecked spying on Americans.
The Office of Internal Auditing, created in 2020 by then-Attorney General William Barr, was designed to oversee the FBI’s use of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)—a powerful provision meant to track foreign targets overseas. But over the years, Section 702 has drawn heavy scrutiny for also sweeping up communications from Americans, often without a warrant.
Watchdog Office Disbanded Without Public Explanation
Earlier this month, the New York Times reported that FBI Director Kash Patel, known for his past criticism of the agency’s surveillance programs, abruptly disbanded the Office of Internal Auditing. No public statement or explanation accompanied the move. At the same time, Cindy Hall, who had been leading the office, announced her retirement, and sources familiar with the situation said the shutdown was part of a broader internal reorganization. Another compliance unit, the Office of Integrity and Compliance, was also reportedly closed.
Insiders claim Hall had been working to expand the scope of the auditing office, but her efforts were hindered by federal hiring freezes that date back to the Trump administration. Without the necessary personnel, the watchdog’s future may have already been in jeopardy—though its sudden end still came as a surprise to many within the agency and the broader intelligence community.
Why Section 702 Matters—and Why It’s Controversial
Section 702 was introduced in 2008 to help intelligence agencies monitor communications from non-U.S. citizens outside the country. However, because modern communication often crosses borders, Americans’ emails, phone calls, and texts can also be captured “incidentally” during this surveillance. Critics argue that the FBI has exploited this loophole to conduct warrantless searches on U.S. citizens, including journalists, lawmakers, activists, and even protesters.
Jeramie Scott, senior counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said the FBI has a documented history of abusing this power. “The Bureau has repeatedly used incidentally collected data to search Americans’ communications without a warrant,” he told Gizmodo. This is precisely the kind of behavior the Office of Internal Auditing was created to catch—and correct.
A Turnaround from the Director
The office’s closure is especially jarring given that Director Kash Patel was once one of the FBI’s loudest critics on surveillance issues. Before his appointment, Patel had attacked the agency’s use of FISA during the Trump-Russia investigation, claiming that FBI officials used flawed applications to spy on members of the Trump campaign. He even helped fuel the narrative that led to Barr creating the Office of Internal Auditing in the first place.
Yet, during his confirmation hearings, Patel struck a different tone—calling Section 702 a “critical tool” for national security and praising recent reforms. His critics now accuse him of walking back his earlier concerns about government overreach.
“It’s hard to reconcile Patel’s past positions with his current actions,” said Elizabeth Goitein, senior director at the Brennan Center for Justice. “Eliminating the very office that exposed abuses of Section 702 seems counter to everything he used to stand for.”
Audit Office Played Key Role in Exposing FBI Missteps
One of the office’s most significant contributions came in 2023, when a declassified court opinion revealed that the FBI had made over 278,000 improper queries of Americans’ data using Section 702—many involving political figures and protestors. The Office of Internal Auditing’s work was instrumental in uncovering those violations.
Transparency reports show that FBI queries of Americans’ information under Section 702 have significantly dropped—from 119,383 in 2022 to just 5,518 in 2024. While this decline may reflect progress, privacy experts warn that it’s not a reason to let oversight lapse. They argue that without an independent office dedicated to monitoring these searches, abuses could once again go unchecked.
“Even with the recent drop in queries, the need for auditing hasn’t gone away,” said Scott. “If the FBI is continuing internal audits, the public deserves to know who is responsible—and that real oversight is still happening.”
For now, it remains unclear how the FBI plans to fill the oversight gap left by the Office of Internal Auditing. But as Congress continues to debate the future of Section 702, many are urging lawmakers to insist on stronger, independent accountability mechanisms going forward.
Because in the world of surveillance, what the government doesn’t say—and who’s left to watch them—can matter just as much as what they do.
