http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/03/09/security.letters/index.htmlWASHINGTON (CNN) -- The FBI is guilty of "serious misuse" of the power to secretly obtain private information under the Patriot Act, a government audit said Friday.
The Justice Department's inspector general looked at the FBI's use of national security letters (NSLs), in which agents demand personal and business information about individuals -- such as financial, phone, and Internet records -- without court orders. Civil libertarians have slammed the practice.
"While national security letters are an important investigative tool, the FBI needs to ensure that it uses this authority in full accord with the national security letter statutes, attorney general guidelines, and FBI policies," Inspector General Glenn A. Fine said in the report.
"We concluded that many of the problems we identified constituted serious misuse of the FBI's national security letter authorities."