FBI Sending Thousands of Secret Letters
The FBI is aggressively using a Patriot Act power that allows investigators to subpoena email records, phone call logs, and financial data without getting a judge's permission, according to a report provided to Congress late Friday evening.
In 2005, FBI investigators issued themselves 9,254 "national security letters" pertaining to the activities of 3,501 citizens and green card holders, according to news accounts of the report. No information was released on the number of NSLs used to get information on non-U.S. persons.
That's good news.
These letters, authorized under Section 505 of the Patriot Act, are among the most powerful tools given to anti-terrorism agents following the September 11 attacks.
The report is the first public account of how the FBI has used this power to write its own search warrants. These are powerful tools. If an ISP gets one, it can't say anything to anyone. The real target never gets a chance to fight the subpoena and unless they are prosecuted, never even learn the letter was issued. And FBI agents can use the data to fill a massive data-mining database or use the information as the basis for sticking someone's name on the terrorist watch list.
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