ACLU: Military skirting law to spy

[Truth2Tell]

Source: Houston Chronicle

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK — The military is using the FBI to skirt legal restrictions on domestic surveillance to obtain private records of Americans' Internet service providers, financial institutions and telephone companies, the ACLU said Tuesday.

The American Civil Liberties Union based its conclusion on a review of more than 1,000 documents turned over by the Defense Department after it sued the agency last year for documents related to national security letters, or NSLs, investigative tools used to compel businesses to turn over customer information without a judge's order or grand jury subpoena.

"Newly unredacted documents released today reveal that the Department of Defense is using the FBI to circumvent legal limits on its own NSL power," said the ACLU, whose lawsuit was filed in Manhattan federal court.

ACLU lawyer Melissa Goodman said the documents the civil rights group studied "make us incredibly concerned." She said it would be understandable if the military relied on help from the FBI on joint investigations, but not when the FBI was not involved in a probe.



Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/5666815.html

[gateley]

1. SPEAKING OF WHICH --

What ever happened to those hearings into the "torture tapes" that had been erased?

Jesus, this administration throws so much crap at us it's impossible to stay on top of it all.

[Truth2Tell]

2. Oh, and what about "phase II"

of the pre-war intelligence hearings? Paging Senator Rockefeller... oh never mind.

[lonestarnot]

3. Get 'em ACLU!

[bbgrunt]

4. time to send in my ACLU annual donation.

[Sam Ervin jret]

5. We are going to need an Encyclopedia of Criminal Activity to document the history of BushCo.

Bush is right about one thing. He will go down in history. They will be teaching whole courses in colleges across the land about this administration and its incompetent, treacherous, traitorous, criminal activities.

[defendandprotect]

6. We're lucky the ACLU still exists after GOP attacks on it --- support them!!!

[cornermouse]

7. How many government agencies are we going to have spying

on us? Has the military declared war on American citizens too?

[Trillo]

8. All of them? n/t

[LynnTheDem]

9. America; military dictatorship police state.

Now if only the "government" would stop being coy & hypocritical, and just admit it.