New documents from the FBI and U.S. Attorneysâ offices paint a troubling picture of the governmentâs email surveillance practices. Not only does the FBI claim it can read emails and other electronic communications without a warrantâeven after a federal appeals court ruled that doing so violates the Fourth Amendmentâbut the documents strongly suggest that different U.S. Attorneysâ offices around the country are applying conflicting standards to access communications content (you can see the documents here).