ACLU Refutes FBI’s Claims of “Unintentional” Patriot Act Abuses, Citing Lies About Authority to Demand Phone Company Records

FBI Should Notify Customers and Name the Phone Companies Involved, ACLU Says

ACLU Analysis of DOJ Report Online at: www.aclu.org/safefree/nationalsecurityletters/28969lgl20070309.html

WASHINGTON – Claims that the FBI’s reported Patriot Act abuses were the “unintentional” result of outmoded computer systems and human error are not credible, the American Civil Liberties Union said today, citing evidence that agents contracted with phone companies to obtain customer records and later sought to cover up the illegal requests.

The report also shows that the FBI is issuing hundreds of thousands more National Security Letters than ever imagined, and that tracking of the NSLs is sloppy, resulting in thousands of innocent Americans being entered into databases that are shared with numerous U.S. agencies and foreign governments.