The Reuters reports cited internal documents that show how DEA's Special Operations Division funnels information from overseas NSA intercepts, domestic wiretaps, informants and a large DEA database of telephone records to authorities nationwide to help them launch criminal investigations of Americans.

＊DEA＝ drug enforcement agency.

The documents show that agents have been trained to conceal how such investigations truly begin - to "recreate" the investigative trail to effectively cover up the original source of the information, raising questions about whether exculpatory information might be withheld from defendants at trial.

'PARALLEL CONSTRUCTION'

The internal documents describe the process of recreating the evidence trail to omit any reference to the Special Operations Division as "parallel construction." For example, agents said in interviews, they act as if a drug investigation began with a traffic stop for speeding or a broken taillight, instead of a tip passed from the NSA. An IRS document describes a similar process for tax agency investigators.

Justice Department officials have said they are reviewing the matter. DEA officials have said the practice is legal and has been in near-daily use since the 1990s. The purpose is to protect sources and methods, not to withhold evidence, they said.

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http://news.yahoo.com/obamas-lawman-pressed-explain-dea-hidden-data-evidence-231120364.html