A Justice Department reportindicates that the FBI illegally obtained personal information including banking and telephone records on thousands of US citizens. The information was gathered without court subpoena through the use of national security letters, the scope of which was significantly expanded under the Patriot Act. These national security letters, intended to be used only in cases of emergency, were used “without an emergency or even without an investigative case,” according to Dan Eggen and John Solomon’s report in the Washington Post. The national security letters were, in some cases, used retroactively.
More than 143,000 requests for information on more than 52,000 individuals were issued from 2003-05, figures much higher than those reported to Congress.
Some politicians responded by calling for restrictions on the Patriot Act and have pledged investigatory hearings. Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-Illinois) has been calling for a review of the Bush administration’s use of national security letters for two years told Eggen and Solomon that the report “confirms the American people’s worst fears about the Patriot Act.” Retraction letters flew across Washington last week as administration representatives sought to correct their sworn testimony that the use of national security letters was well-regulated.
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