Nick Juliano, Raw Story
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.”
(Original Article)