Hundreds of FBI agents may have cheated on an exam testing their knowledge about when they can legally spy on Americans. The FBI’s inspector general found widespread “cheating and abuse” by agents located around the country who took the bureau’s test on its Domestic Investigation and Operations Guide, which explains how agents can conduct surveillance and open files on Americans who haven’t broken the law, all in the name of national security.

 

The IG uncovered instances in which agents used answer sheets when taking the exam and collaborated with other agents to determine the correct answer to questions, among other problems found. One FBI agent working on a cyber crime squad discovered a coding flaw that allowed him to view the answers to the exam. He then created a computer tool that made it easier to access the answers and this tool soon made the rounds.

 

Investigators looking into the allegations said they were “troubled by the various justifications offered by agents and supervisors for their actions.” One legal advisor in an FBI field office rationalized the cheating by disregarding the exam as “just another bureaucratic impediment.”

 

About 20,000 FBI agents, analysts and technicians took the test after undergoing 16 1/2 hours of training. Those who failed the test were allowed to take it again—and again and again—until they passed.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

 

Investigation of Allegations of Cheating on the FBI’s Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG) Exam (U.S. Department of Justice, Inspector General) (pdf)

Opinions Mixed Inside FBI Over Test Cheating Scandal (by Allan Lengel, ticklethewire.com)

FBI Director Defends Bureau over Test Cheating (by Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman, Associated Press)

FBI Cheating Confirmed by Justice Department (by Jeff Stein, Washington Post)