Number: RS22406
Title: National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: A Glimpse of the Legal Background and Recent Amendments
Authors: Charles Doyle, American Law Division 
Abstract: The USA PATRIOT Act expanded the circumstances under which an NSL could be used. Subsequent press accounts suggested that their use had become widespread. Two lower federal courts found the uncertainties, practices, and policies associated with the use of NSL authority contrary to the First Amendment right of freedom of speech. The USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act, P.L. 109-177, and P.L. 109- 178, amend the NSL statutes and related law to address some of the concerns raised by critics and the courts. Following amendment, an appellate court dismissed one of the earlier cases as moot and remanded the second for reconsideration in light of the amendments. On remand, the lower federal court again held the NSLs constitutionally suspect. The decision is on appeal. A report of the Department of Justice's Inspector General found that in its early use of its expanded USA PATRIOT Act authority the FBI had "used NSLs in violation of applicable NSL statutes, Attorney General Guidelines, and internal FBI policies," but that no criminal laws had been broken. A year later, a second IG report confirmed the findings of the first, and noted the corrective measures taken in response.
Pages: 6
Date: March 28, 2008