[bitwize]

It's the FBI -- not just a law enforcement agency but a national security/counter terror agency. For such agencies the Constitution and the laws become vague and flexible. Under color of law, the FBI can essentially do anything they can present a plausible law-enforcement case for.

A few years ago we had a shitsplosion involving the BATF running illegal guns in order to "catch criminals", with the result that few if any criminals were caught and Mexican drug lords found themselves in possession of nifty new guns. AFAIR none of the major decision makers lost their jobs, let alone were prosecuted.

I wonder how much actual law enforcement purpose is behind these ops and how much of it is just a game of "let's see what we can get away with".