Use Of National Security Letters Increasing

The FBI's use of national security letters-- a form of administrative subpoena that allows agents to demand records from banks, telephone companies and other firms-- has been a topic here in the past.

These national security letters are getting quite a workout these days, according to the Washington Post:

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.

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...

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.

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.

One criticism is that "scores of FBI managers around the country" are authorized to issue these instruments:

"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."

The government previously has declined to reveal how many NSLs have been issued by the FBI and criticized the Post report as inaccurate. A Justice Department official said yesterday that the department would not comment on how many more NSLs have been issued for subscriber data only.

One really can't blame the FBI for expanding the use of a power granted to them to legally go around the sometimes onerous court system to accomplish their goals.

It is when these national security letters are viewed in the context of being yet another step--along with NSA warrantless wiretapping, spying on protesters, the USA Patriot Act, etc.--in the direction of a police state, that one realizes that the perpetrators of 9-11 are achieving their goal of destroying the United States of America.