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FBI Says Paper Trails Are Optional
WerewolfOfVulcan writes "According to this Washington Post article, the FBI says that it doesn't have to comply with even the unconstitutional provisions of the Patriot Act when asking for phone records. Apparently that whole due process thing doesn't include them. Funny thing is, they've apparently already been doing it for years." Quoting: "Under past procedures, agents sent 'exigent circumstances letters' to phone companies, seeking toll records by asserting there was an emergency. Then they were expected to issue a grand jury subpoena or a 'national security letter,' which legally authorized the collection after the fact. Agents often did not follow up with that paperwork, the inspector general's investigation found. The new instructions tell agents there is no need to follow up with national security letters or subpoenas. The agents are also told that... they may make requests orally, with no paperwork sent to phone companies. Such oral requests have been made over the years in terrorism and kidnapping cases, officials said."
Careful. With an attitude like that you'll be called an "unlawful enemy combatant", or maybe the Vice-President, hard to tell the difference these days.
Later,
Ron
Impeach Barack Obama for violating the Constitutional requirement to be a "natural born" citizen to hold the office of P
I was going to moderate this, maybe "Insightful," but then it descended into Trolldom. Making up gratuitous clever nicknames like "Foul Breathed Investigators" does nothing to bolster your argument; in fact it makes me (at least) focus on the name-calling rather than the argument. Attributing outright malevolence to Bush is also cliche by now.
You have a legitimate case to make about the abuses and expansion of government power.
Revive the Constitution.