Pentagon, With Little Oversight, Conspired With FBI To Spy On Americans

[Hissyspit]

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Pentagon_acted_with_little_oversight_in_1015.html

Pentagon acted with little oversight in spying on Americans, documents show
Nick Juliano
Published: Monday October 15, 2007

The Department of Defense has conspired with the FBI to "circumvent the law" in accessing hundreds of Americans' telephone, e-mail and financial records, say two civil liberties groups that released reams of new documents obtained in a contested public records request.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which has challenged the Bush Administration's post-Sept. 11 spying authority, says the Pentagon has issued 455 National Security Letters in concert with the FBI to obtain Americans' private information it is not entitled to receive.

"The documents make clear that the Department of Defense may have secretly and illegally conducted surveillance beyond the powers it was granted by Congress," ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero said. "It also appears as if the FBI is serving as a lackey for the DoD in misusing the Patriot Act powers. At the very least, it certainly looks like the FBI and DoD are conspiring to evade limits placed on the Department of Defense's surveillance powers."

The 455 letters were issued to investigate potential terror threats posed by people directly connected to the Defense Department, including civilian employees, contractors, active duty troops, reservists and their families, military officials told the New York Times.

Recipients of the letters -- usually financial institutions, telephone companies or internet service providers -- are prohibited from disclosing that they received them, the ACLU says. And although the Pentagon-issued letter do not require cooperation, those from the FBI are mandatory, records show that the letters are coercive and unclear that compliance to Defense-issued letters is voluntary.

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