[privacy] FBI Sought Info on Thousands Of U.S. Citizens Without Court OK

["Fergie" <fergdawg () netzero net>]

I know how _I'll_ be voting in November.

Via Yahoo! News (AP).

[snip]

The FBI secretly sought information last year on 3,501 U.S. citizens and legal residents from their banks and credit 
card, telephone and Internet companies without a court's approval, the Justice Department said Friday.

It was the first time the Bush administration has publicly disclosed how often it uses the administrative subpoena 
known as a National Security Letter, which allows the executive branch of government to obtain records about people in 
terrorism and espionage investigations without a judge's approval or a grand jury subpoena.

Friday's disclosure was mandated as part of the renewal of the Patriot Act, the administration's sweeping anti-terror 
law.

The FBI delivered a total of 9,254 NSLs relating to 3,501 people in 2005, according to a report submitted late Friday 
to Democratic and Republican leaders in the House and Senate. In some cases, the bureau demanded information about one 
person from several companies.

[snip]

More:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060428/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/patriot_act_records

- ferg


--
"Fergie", a.k.a. Paul Ferguson
 Engineering Architecture for the Internet
 fergdawg () netzero net or fergdawg () sbcglobal net
 ferg's tech blog: http://fergdawg.blogspot.com/

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