Reading Room Document
Federal Bureau of Investigation Participation in Wire Interceptions in Cases Where It Lacks Investigative Responsibility
Under 18 U.S.C. § 2516(1), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) may be judicially authorized to participate in Title III interceptions of wire or oral communications directed at narcotics-related offenses, even though the Drug Enforcement Administration and not the FBI has general investigative responsibility for such offenses. The plain language of §2516(1) authorizes the FBI to participate in court-approved interceptions directed at any of the offenses listed in that section, and the legislative history lends support to its " plain meaning" interpretation. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/22771/download.
The OLC's Opinions
Opinions published by the OLC, including those released in response to our FOIA lawsuit