From Dan Eggen in today's
El Wapo:
The FBI sought personal information on thousands of Americans last year from banks, Internet service providers and other companies without having to seek approval from a court, according to new data released by the Justice Department.
Yes, you read that correctly--- thousands.
(continues)
The Bush Executive has taken great pains to give the impression that it is only using the expanded provisions of the USAPATRIOT Act in rare circumstances. Let's see how that assertion holds up under the cold light of day...
In a report to the top leaders of both parties in the House, the department disclosed that the FBI had issued more than 9,200 "national security letters," or NSLs, seeking detailed information about more than 3,500 U.S. citizens or legal residents in 2005.
First, let's review what a "national security letter" is. Kosmopolitan
TheBlaz posted about them
recently. Please read his/her fine diary first. I'll only borrow one quote:
18 U.S.C. Section 2709(c): Prohibition of certain disclosure.--No wire or electronic communication service provider, or officer, employee, or agent thereof, shall disclose to any person that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has sought or obtained access to information or records under this section.
So, in short, a "national security letter" is effectively an administrative subpoena for information about an individual that ships with the legal provision that the person or institution being subpoenaed cannot even acknowledge that they received such a letter.
The report, released late Friday, represents the first official count of NSL use. It was required under legislation that extended the USA Patriot Act anti-terrorism law.
Ah, yes, Ye Olde Friday News Dump. Astute Kosmopolitans will recall that this last Friday's dump also revealed that Cheney, Inc. intends to exercise its obscure and rarely-use "States Secret Privilege" powers to summarily dismiss the Electronic Frontier Foundation's class-action lawsuit against ATT for allegedly aiding the the government in... wait for it.. illegally spying on Americans.
9,200+ NSLs sure sounds like a lot, but its likely only the tip of the iceberg:
The count does not include other such letters that are issued by the FBI to obtain more limited subscriber information from companies, such as a person's name, address or other identifying data, according to the report. Sources have said that would include thousands of additional letters and may be the largest category of NSLs issued. The Washington Post reported in November that the FBI now issues more than 30,000 NSLs each year, including subscriber requests.
Let's go slow here:
1) More than 30,000 secret letters
2) sent by one agency of the government that we all pay for
3) to private companies that collect your personal information
4) that have to give up the data when asked
5) and who are breaking the law if they even tell you they were asked
6) ... in a single year.
Feel safer? Gosh, I know I do.
But, wait, there's more:
The Justice Department report also outlined a continued increase in the use of secret warrants under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA. The secret court that oversees the law approved a record 2,072 orders for clandestine searches or surveillance in 2005 -- an 18 percent increase from the year before.
At the FISA court, the number of warrants for clandestine searches and surveillance has more than doubled in the past five years, according to government figures. The court -- which historically has refused only a handful of warrant applications -- did not reject any of the government's requests last year, although two cases were withdrawn by Justice before a ruling was issued, the report said.
This simply cannot continue. We either choose to end the American Experiment and become a totalitarian state where an all-powerful Executive spurns the courts, the law, and legislative oversight, or we take back the Congress for the citizens of this country and begin restoring our democracy. Its just that simple.
Fortunately, there are still a few people who are paying attention and working to fight our current slide toward a secret police state:
"This tells us why they didn't want to tell us in the past how many of these they were actually using," said Caroline Fredrickson, Washington legislative director for the American Civil Liberties Union. "The idea that this kind of power resides in the hands of so many people at the FBI with no court oversight is very troubling."
If you can swing it, please help the ACLU by becoming a member and donating. They are one of the few organizations left fighting the legal battale against the paranoid freaks in the Cheney Administration and for our Consitution and the freedoms inherent in our way of life.
If you can't give to the ACLU, that's cool-- just be sure to tell everyone you know about this story. Americans only tolerate domestic spying because Cheney, Inc. has sold them on the idea that the expanded powers enshrined in the PATRIOT Act are only used "against terrorists" in rare and extraordinary cases. We need to fight that lie and tell our friends and neighbors the real truth.
In case you need a reminder, here's why this all matters:
Amendment IV (Ratified 12/15/1791)
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Oh well, its only a "goddamned piece of paper", right?