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FBI Director Questioned on Patriot ActDuring a May 2 oversight hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) asked FBI Director Robert Mueller for assurance that the recently reauthorized USA Patriot Act would exempt libraries from records requests by national security letter (NSL). The hearing was held in response to an April 28 Justice Department report that revealed the FBI had issued more than 9,200 NSLs seeking detailed information about 3,500 U.S. citizens or legal residents in 2005.The Cnet online news service reported May 2 that Mueller answered that he would have to examine the “specific language in the statute” because “it’s somewhat of a complicated provision, and I want to be precise in my answer to you.” “There is a concern across America and this community. . . . I thought we’d put it to rest,” Durbin responded. “Now I’m going to have restless nights until you get back to me.” Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) noted that the number of NSL requests was “far, far larger” than the 155 requests made under Section 215—sometimes referred to as the “library provision”—of the Patriot Act, although whether these were for libraries or for other businesses was not specified in the report. Feingold commented, “I fear the reason might be that in Section 215 they have to go before a judge, and with national security letters, they don’t.” Posted May 5, 2006. |
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