ACTION on NSLs Warrantless Subpoenas

Wednesday, April 1, 2009 2:44 PM
From: "Bill of Rights Defense Committee" here

National security letters (NSLs) are warrantless administrative subpoenas of private customer records from financial institutions, credit bureaus, and communications providers, such as phone companies and internet service providers. NSLs have existed for decades, but prior to the PATRIOT Act, they were limited to collecting information on suspected terrorists or foreign spies.

NSLs are accompanied by gag orders that prevent recipients from disclosing the letters' existence or contents, meaning that the public rarely hears about specific instances of NSL abuse. However, in 2007 and 2008, the Justice Department's own Inspector General found widespread abuse of the more than 50,000 NSLs now issued each year. In fact, many of those 50,000 NSLs seek information on people only distantly connected to a suspected terrorist and who are not suspected of terrorism themselves.

A federal judge has struck down NSLs as unconstitutional because they violate the First, Fourth and Fifth Amendments, but they are still in use today. Until now, Congress has failed to put checks on NSL use to protect the privacy of law-abiding Americans' personal records.

Call on your senators and representative today to put an end to NSL abuse.

The overwhelming majority of NSL requests seek our most sensitive information -- telephone bills, email subscriber information, and financial records. And even if the FBI determines that the subject of an NSL is completely innocent, it keeps the information it collects, amassing vast dossiers on innocent Americans.

Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) have called for a stop to the use of NSLs to invade the privacy of innocent people. This week, Reps. Nadler and Flake reintroduced the National Security Letters Reform Act of 2009. Previously introduced in 2007, this bipartisan bill aims to curb federal law enforcement's rampant abuse of NSLs. The legislation already has 17 cosponsors, including former presidential candidate Ron Paul (R-TX).

Call today and ask your representative to cosponsor the National Security Letters Reform Act of 2009. Call your senators and ask them to support the legislation in the Senate. Find out how to contact your members of Congress.

Tell them it is Congress's responsibility to ensure that there is strict oversight of NSL powers. Tell them that it is their responsibility to protect and defend your constitutional privacy and free speech rights. Tell your members of Congress it is time for them to step in and stop this abuse of power.

To learn more about NSL abuses, watch BORDC's video, FBI: Unbound.

Bill of Rights Defense Committee
Address: 8 Bridge Street, Suite A, Northampton, MA 01060
Web: www.bordc.org
Email: info@bordc.org
Telephone: 413-582-0110
Fax: 413-582-0116

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