October 14, 2007 - Agence France-Presse
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Pentagon has misled Congress and the
US public by conniving with the FBI to obtain hundreds of financial,
telephone and Internet records without court approval, civil-rights
campaigners said Sunday.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which has successfully
challenged key planks of US anti-terrorism legislation, said
it had uncovered 455 "National Security Letters" issued
at the behest of the Department of Defense.
Before the ACLU's challenge, the USA Patriot Act had allowed
the FBI to issue gag orders to those receiving NSLs usually
Internet service providers, banks and libraries from disclosing
anything about the request.
Beyond the gag orders, the ACLU said its analysis of the letters
showed the Pentagon and FBI had collaborated "to circumvent
the law" and "provided misleading information to
Congress" about the nature and reach of the requests.
"Once again, the Bush administration's unchecked authority
has led to abuse and civil liberties violations," ACLU
executive director Anthony Romero said.
The claim came as Democrats and Republicans battle in Congress
over updating the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which
critics say has been abused by President George W. Bush to
spy on Americans.
"At the very least, it certainly looks like the FBI and
DoD are conspiring to evade limits placed on the Department
of Defense's surveillance powers," Romero said.
While the Federal Bureau of Intelligence enjoys broad powers
of surveillance under the Patriot Act, the Pentagon's authority
is more limited and it is normally expected to go through the
FBI for such information.
The documents show that in many cases, the FBI has merely
acted as a front for the Pentagon, enabling defense officials
to gain access to records they are "not entitled to receive," according
to the ACLU.
The group said it had obtained the records after suing the
two government agencies under the Freedom of Information Act.
"The expanded role of the military in domestic intelligence
gathering is troubling," said Melissa Goodman, staff attorney
with the ACLU's National Security Project.
"These documents reveal that the military is gaining
access to records here in the US in secret and without any
meaningful oversight."
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