Show FBI looks at records of Americans in terrorist hunt Barton Gellman The Washington Post The FBI came calling in Windsor Conn this summer with a document marked for delivery by hand On Avenue across from the tennis courts two special agents found their man They gave George Christian the letter which warned him to tell no one ever what it said Under the shield and stars of the FBI crest the letter directed Christian to surrender all subscriber information information information tion billing information and access logs of any person who used a specific specific specific computer at a library branch some dis distance ance away Christian wh who manages digital records for three thre dozen Connecticut libraries said in a an n affidavit that he configures his system for privacy But the vendors of th the software he operates said their databases databases databases data data- bases can reveal the Web sites that tha t FBI Cont Cant on Page 10 90 FBI Cont from front visitors browse the mail e-mail accounts they open and the books they borrow Christian refused to hand handover handover handover over those records and his employer Library Connection Inc filed suit for the right to protest the FBI demand in public The Washington Post established established established their identities still identities still under seal in the US U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit Circuit by by comparing unsealed portions of the file with public records and information gleaned from people who had no knowledge knowledge knowledge knowl knowl- edge of the FBI demand The Connecticut case affords a rare glimpse of an exponentially growing practice of domestic surveillance surveillance surveillance sur sur- under the USA Patriot Act which marked its fourth anniversary on Oct 26 National security letters created in the I for espionage and terrorism investigations originated as narrow exceptions exceptions exceptions in jn consumer privacy law enabling the FBI to review in secret the customer customer customer cus cus- cus- cus tomer records of suspected foreign agents The Patriot Act and Bush administration tion guidelines for its use transformed those letters by permitting clandestine scrutiny of US U.S. residents and visitors who are not alleged to be terrorists or spies The FB FBI I now issues more than national security security security rity letters a year according according according accord accord- ing to government sources a hundredfold increase over historic norms The letters- letters one of which can be used to sweep up the records of many people are extending the bureaus bureau's reach as never before into the telephone calls correspondence and financial lives of ordinary Americans Issued by FBI field supervisors supervisors supervisors super super- visors national security letters letters letters let let- do not need the imprimatur imprimatur imprimatur matur of a prosecutor grand jury or judge They receive no review after the fact bythe bythe by bythe the Justice Department or Congress The executive branch maintains only statistics statistics statistics sta sta- sta- sta which are incomplete incomplete incomplete and confined to classified classified classified classi classi- fied reports The Bush administration defeated legislation legislation legislation leg leg- and a lawsuit to require a public accounting and has offered no example in which the use of a national nation nation- al security letter helped disrupt disrupt disrupt dis dis- dis- dis rupt a terrorist plot use of The burgeoning national security letters coincides with an unannounced unannounced unannounced unan unan- decision to deposit all the information they government data yield into banks and to share those private records widely inthe inthe in inthe government and the federal beyond In late 2003 the Bush administration reversed standing long a policy requiring agents to destroy their files on innocent innocent innocent inno inno- cent American citizens companies and residents when investigations closed Late last month President Bush signed Executive Order expanding access to those files for forstate forstate forstate state local and tribal governments and for appropriate private sector entities which are not defined |