FBI Lawyer Who Oversaw Surveillance Abuse Confirmed as Judge

Enjoy that oversight, America!

The overreach of intelligence agencies has generated tons of news and commentary. So much, in fact, that even our normally gridlocked representatives have been propelled into action. More than 20 pieces of legislation are currently in the works, aimed at rolling back the abuses of intelligence agencies and the expanded PATRIOT Act.

With so much attention being paid to the fact that agencies like the NSA and the FBI trampled all over Americans' civil liberties, you'd think that a few of our Senators might have found former FBI counsel Valerie Caproni's oversight of a decade's worth of abusive tactics by the FBI to be a bit problematic. In the current climate, one would have expected the Senate to shoot down her nomination for a seat as a judge on the Southern District Court of New York—especially considering the court's history as the go-to venue for terrorist-related cases.

But no, her nomination sailed through 73-24, thus placing another judge aligned with the administration's "see no evil [in our intelligence agencies]" viewpoint. If you're bringing a suit against any number of overreaching government agencies for violation of your rights, you'd better hope your case gets assigned elsewhere.