H
Harry Hope
Guest
From The Associated Press, 4/2/08:
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Documents_show_Pentagon_now_using_FBI_0402.html
Wednesday April 2, 2008
Documents show Pentagon now using FBI to spy on Americans
Associated Press
ACLU obtains documents after suit over National Security Letters
The military is using the FBI to skirt legal restrictions on domestic
surveillance to obtain private records of Americans' Internet service
providers, financial institutions and telephone companies, according
to Pentagon documents.
The American Civil Liberties Union expressed outrage at the new
revelations, based its conclusion on a review of more than 1,000
documents turned over by the Defense Department after it sued the
agency last year for documents related to national security letters,
or NSLs, investigative tools used to compel businesses to turn over
customer information without a judge's order or grand jury subpoena.
"Newly unredacted documents released today reveal that the Department
of Defense is using the FBI to circumvent legal limits on its own NSL
power," said the ACLU, whose lawsuit was filed in Manhattan federal
court.
ACLU lawyer Melissa Goodman said the documents the civil rights group
studied "make us incredibly concerned."
She said it would be understandable if the military relied on help
from the FBI on joint investigations, but not when the FBI was not
involved in a probe.
The FBI referred requests for comment Tuesday to the Defense
Department.
A department spokesman, Air Force Lt. Col. Patrick Ryder, said in an
e-mail that the department had made "focused, limited and judicious"
use of the letters since Congress extended the capability to
investigatory entities other than the FBI in 2001.
He said the department had acted legally in using a necessary
investigatory tool and noted that "unusual financial activity of
people affiliated with DoD can be an indication of potential espionage
or terrorist-related activity."
Ryder said the information in the ACLU claims came in part from an
internal review of DoD's use of the letters.
"We have since developed training and provided it to the services for
their use," he said.
He said that there was no law requiring it to track use of the letters
but that the department had decided it was in its best interest to do
so.
Goodman, a staff attorney with the ACLU National Security Project,
said the military is allowed to demand financial and credit records in
certain instances but does not have the authority to get e-mail and
phone records or lists of Web sites that people have visited.
That is the kind of information that the FBI can get by using a
national security letter, she said.
"That's why we're particularly concerned. The DoD may be accessing the
kinds of records they are not allowed to get," she said.
Goodman also noted that legal limits are placed on the Defense
Department "because the military doing domestic investigations tends
to make us leery."
In other allegations, the ACLU said:
_ The Navy's use of the letters to demand domestic records has
increased significantly since the Sept. 11 attacks.
_ The military wrongly claimed its use of the letters was limited to
investigating only Defense Department employees.
_ The Defense Department has not kept track of how many national
security letters the military issues or what information it obtained
through the orders.
_ The military provided misleading information to Congress and
silenced letter recipients from speaking out about the records
requests.
Goodman said Congress should provide stricter guidelines and
meaningful oversight of how the military and FBI make national
security letter requests.
"Any government agency's ability to demand these kinds of personal,
financial or Internet records in the United States is an intrusive
surveillance power," she said.
Pentagon expected to close Rumsfeld-sparked spy office
"The Pentagon is expected to shut a controversial intelligence office
that has drawn fire from lawmakers and civil liberties groups who
charge that it was part of an effort by the Defense Department to
expand into domestic spying," the New York Times reports Wednesday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/02/washington/02intel.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
"The move, government officials say, is part of a broad effort under
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to review, overhaul and, in some
cases, dismantle an intelligence architecture built by his
predecessor, Donald H. Rumsfeld."
"The intelligence unit, called the Counterintelligence Field Activity
office, was created by Mr. Rumsfeld after the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks as part of an effort to counter the operations of
foreign intelligence services and terror groups inside the United
States and abroad," the Times adds.
"Yet the office, whose size and budget is classified, came under
fierce criticism in 2005 after it was disclosed that it was managing a
database that included information about antiwar protests planned at
churches, schools and Quaker meeting halls."
__________________________________________________
Nosy, ain't they
Harry
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Documents_show_Pentagon_now_using_FBI_0402.html
Wednesday April 2, 2008
Documents show Pentagon now using FBI to spy on Americans
Associated Press
ACLU obtains documents after suit over National Security Letters
The military is using the FBI to skirt legal restrictions on domestic
surveillance to obtain private records of Americans' Internet service
providers, financial institutions and telephone companies, according
to Pentagon documents.
The American Civil Liberties Union expressed outrage at the new
revelations, based its conclusion on a review of more than 1,000
documents turned over by the Defense Department after it sued the
agency last year for documents related to national security letters,
or NSLs, investigative tools used to compel businesses to turn over
customer information without a judge's order or grand jury subpoena.
"Newly unredacted documents released today reveal that the Department
of Defense is using the FBI to circumvent legal limits on its own NSL
power," said the ACLU, whose lawsuit was filed in Manhattan federal
court.
ACLU lawyer Melissa Goodman said the documents the civil rights group
studied "make us incredibly concerned."
She said it would be understandable if the military relied on help
from the FBI on joint investigations, but not when the FBI was not
involved in a probe.
The FBI referred requests for comment Tuesday to the Defense
Department.
A department spokesman, Air Force Lt. Col. Patrick Ryder, said in an
e-mail that the department had made "focused, limited and judicious"
use of the letters since Congress extended the capability to
investigatory entities other than the FBI in 2001.
He said the department had acted legally in using a necessary
investigatory tool and noted that "unusual financial activity of
people affiliated with DoD can be an indication of potential espionage
or terrorist-related activity."
Ryder said the information in the ACLU claims came in part from an
internal review of DoD's use of the letters.
"We have since developed training and provided it to the services for
their use," he said.
He said that there was no law requiring it to track use of the letters
but that the department had decided it was in its best interest to do
so.
Goodman, a staff attorney with the ACLU National Security Project,
said the military is allowed to demand financial and credit records in
certain instances but does not have the authority to get e-mail and
phone records or lists of Web sites that people have visited.
That is the kind of information that the FBI can get by using a
national security letter, she said.
"That's why we're particularly concerned. The DoD may be accessing the
kinds of records they are not allowed to get," she said.
Goodman also noted that legal limits are placed on the Defense
Department "because the military doing domestic investigations tends
to make us leery."
In other allegations, the ACLU said:
_ The Navy's use of the letters to demand domestic records has
increased significantly since the Sept. 11 attacks.
_ The military wrongly claimed its use of the letters was limited to
investigating only Defense Department employees.
_ The Defense Department has not kept track of how many national
security letters the military issues or what information it obtained
through the orders.
_ The military provided misleading information to Congress and
silenced letter recipients from speaking out about the records
requests.
Goodman said Congress should provide stricter guidelines and
meaningful oversight of how the military and FBI make national
security letter requests.
"Any government agency's ability to demand these kinds of personal,
financial or Internet records in the United States is an intrusive
surveillance power," she said.
Pentagon expected to close Rumsfeld-sparked spy office
"The Pentagon is expected to shut a controversial intelligence office
that has drawn fire from lawmakers and civil liberties groups who
charge that it was part of an effort by the Defense Department to
expand into domestic spying," the New York Times reports Wednesday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/02/washington/02intel.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
"The move, government officials say, is part of a broad effort under
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to review, overhaul and, in some
cases, dismantle an intelligence architecture built by his
predecessor, Donald H. Rumsfeld."
"The intelligence unit, called the Counterintelligence Field Activity
office, was created by Mr. Rumsfeld after the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks as part of an effort to counter the operations of
foreign intelligence services and terror groups inside the United
States and abroad," the Times adds.
"Yet the office, whose size and budget is classified, came under
fierce criticism in 2005 after it was disclosed that it was managing a
database that included information about antiwar protests planned at
churches, schools and Quaker meeting halls."
__________________________________________________
Nosy, ain't they
Harry
