Documents Show Ashcroft is Bypassing Courts With New Spy Powers, ACLU Says March 24, 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NEW YORK - Documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union suggest that the Attorney General is aggressively wielding a disturbing power that - without the approval of a judge - allows the government to force banks, Internet service providers, telephone companies, and credit agencies to turn over their customers records... Other recently obtained documents confirm that: The FBI is conducting wiretaps and secret searches in criminal investigations without complying with the usual probable cause requirements; The government has begun to use an extraordinarily broad surveillance provision that could be used to force libraries and bookstores to report on their patrons and customers reading habits; The FBI is aggressively using pen registers and trap-and-trace devices that allow them to track phone calls and emails; The government plans to use its new surveillance powers not only against suspected terrorists but also against ordinary Americans and permanent residents.
