The Justice Department argues that new rules for national security investigations will help protect Americans from a terror attack. The Los Angeles Times reports that these "changes would expand rules the department enacted after the Sept. 11 attacks that permitted the FBI to conduct 'assessments' of threats of terrorism and espionage even in instances where little or no proof existed of criminal activity." Some privacy and civil liberties advocates were briefed on the rules last week by Justice Department officials, and afterwards expressed the concern that this would allow for racial profiling. OMB Watch signed on to a letter sent to ranking members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, "expressing concern with changes to federal guidelines that would lower the bar for the FBI's law enforcement and intelligence investigations." "We ask that you thoroughly question FBI Director Mueller this week about the extent of these changes and convene a hearing of civil liberties experts to discuss the implications of the guidelines once they become public and before they go into effect." "It appears that fundamental changes will be made in the FBI and Department of Justice rules that govern criminal investigations and domestic intelligence gathering, and the implications of those changes require your dedicated oversight. We also ask that you prevent any funding from being used to implement these changes until the next Attorney General has a chance to review them." For more information on the new rules, read this article from the latest OMB Watcher, Critics Ask DOJ to Drop Proposed Expansion of Domestic Surveillance Powers.