Patriot Act amplified FBI error, report says

A report declassified and released Friday from Inspector General Glenn Fine found that, while FBI investigators did not abuse their powers in the case, the Patriot Act anti-terrorism law “amplified the consequences” of the FBI ‘s misidentification of a fingerprint by allowing numerous agencies to share flawed information. The report acknowledges that there was an “unusual similarity” between the fingerprints, confusing three FBI examiners and a court-appointed expert. But Fine’s office also found that FBI examiners failed to adhere to the bureau’s rules for identifying latent fingerprints and that the FBI’s “overconfidence” in its skills prevented it from taking the Spanish police seriously.