March 25, 2007
Creeping Totalitarianism Department
A Few Words from an NSL Recipient
The Washington Post has a fascinating anonymous op-ed by someone who received a national security letter (NSL). These letters are demands for information by the FBI (or other agencies, I presume) that have not been approved by any court and which come with a gag order prohibiting their disclosure to anyone.
According to a report by the Justice department's inspector general, the FBI has issued an insane number of these letters, far more than could possibly be justified by legitimate issues of national security.
The author's report of life under the gag order is chilling:
Under the threat of criminal prosecution, I must hide all aspects of my involvement in the case -- including the mere fact that I received an NSL -- from my colleagues, my family and my friends. When I meet with my attorneys I cannot tell my girlfriend where I am going or where I have been. I hide any papers related to the case in a place where she will not look. When clients and friends ask me whether I am the one challenging the constitutionality of the NSL statute, I have no choice but to look them in the eye and lie.
This man has not been convicted of a crime, he's not even a suspect, and no court has ordered his silence. Some FBI employee just decided to force him to do something and not tell anyone about it. As Jim Henley puts it:
This is tyranny. Not “the threat of” tyranny, not “practically” tyranny - the thing itself.
Want more proof? From the op-ed:
I found it particularly difficult to be silent about my concerns while Congress was debating the reauthorization of the Patriot Act in 2005 and early 2006. If I hadn't been under a gag order, I would have contacted members of Congress to discuss my experiences and to advocate changes in the law.
In our democracy, this man was prevented from complaining to his elected representatives about a matter of government that he found disturbing.
That's just not right. I think, also, that it's clearly unconstitutional. And even if it's not ruled unconstitutional, it's still a bad idea to give random FBI employees such unreviewed powers over Americans. That's not how this country is supposed to work, as the anonymous author points out:
I recognize that there may sometimes be a need for secrecy in certain national security investigations. But I've now been under a broad gag order for three years, and other NSL recipients have been silenced for even longer. At some point -- a point we passed long ago -- the secrecy itself becomes a threat to our democracy.
In the unlikely event that anyone with national security responsibilities is reading this, please understand: If you are investigating a legitimate matter of national security—war, espionage, real terrorism—and you think I have some information which will help you, just ask me about it. I would be proud to help catch a terrorist or a spy. I would be proud to help make our nation strong against its enemies. And if you need me to keep my mouth shut, I will do that too. All I ask is that you treat me like a fellow patriot.
(Hat tip: Balko)
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