Main Page | Recent changes | View source | Page history

Printable version | Disclaimers | Privacy policy

Not logged in
Log in | Help
 

National Security Letter

From dKosopedia

A National Security Letter (NSL) is issued by the FBI, and it allows the FBI to demand information about suspects without obtaining a search warrant. In fact, the recipient of the letter is prohibited from disclosing to anyone that they even received it. NSLs are issued under the authority of Executive Order 12333, which was signed by President Ronald Reagan.

In September 2007, a federal court ruled that the gag provision of NSLs was unconstitutional. (Analysis: ACLU Scores a Big Win Against the Patriot Act)

In 2005, the FBI delivered a total of 9,254 NSLs relating to 3,501 people. According to the Guardian article:

The department also reported it received a secret court's approval for 155 warrants to examine business records last year, under a Patriot Act provision that includes library records. However, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has said the department has never used the provision to ask for library records.

The number was a significant jump over past use of the warrant for business records. A year ago, Gonzales told Congress there had been 35 warrants approved between November 2003 and April 2005.

The FBI has acknowledged that it is using NSLs to obtain the telephone records of reporters.

External Links

Retrieved from "http://localhost../../../n/a/t/National_Security_Letter_b4bb.html"

This page was last modified 17:59, 13 November 2008 by dKosopedia user Corncam. Content is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.


[Main Page]
Daily Kos
DailyKos FAQ

View source
Discuss this page
Page history
What links here
Related changes

Special pages
Bug reports