The Federal Bureau of Investigation yesterday quietly dropped its demand for library records from Library Connection, Inc., a consortium of 26 Connecticut libraries. The FBI had issued a national security letter to obtain the records instead of obtaining a warrant. Library Connection refused to disclose the records, maintaining that if the government wanted the information, it could get a warrant. Instead, the FBI dropped its request.
So, the American citizenry’s civil liberties are a little more intact today than they were yesterday. But what’s really interesting about this particular case is that Library Connection published the text of the national security letter through the American Civil Liberties Union.
National security letters are issued under a gag order that precludes the subject of the investigation from talking about the investigation or even acknowledging the existence of the investigation. The investigative tool is one of the more controversial parts of the USA Patriot Act and allows the government to obtain—without warrants—records of people who are not suspected of any crime.
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