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Pentagon gets some Americans' bank data

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posted on Jan, 13 2007 @ 11:55 PM
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Simply by being "suspected" of terrorism, the Pentagon and CIA are now openly admitting to snooping through financial records of American Citizens!!!
 



news.yahoo.com
The
Pentagon and to a lesser extent the
CIA have been using a little-known power to look at the banking and credit records of hundreds of Americans and others suspected of terrorism or espionage within the United States, officials said Saturday.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Saturday the Defense Department "makes requests for information under authorities of the National Security Letter statutes ... but does not use the specific term National Security Letter in its investigatory practice."

Whitman did not indicate the number of requests that have been made in recent years, but said authorities operate under the Right to Financial Privacy Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the National Security Act.

"These statutory tools may provide key leads for counterintelligence and counterterrorism investigations," Whitman said. "Because these are requests for information rather than court orders, a DOD request under the NSL statutes cannot be compelled absent court involvement."

"It is our understanding that the intelligence community agencies make such requests on a limited basis," said Carl Kropf, a spokesman for the Office of the National Intelligence Director, which oversees all 16 spy agencies in the government.

The national security letters permit the executive branch to seek records about people in terror and spy investigations without a judge's approval or grand jury subpoena.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the lead agency on domestic counterterrorism and espionage, has issued thousands of national security letters since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Whitman said Defense Department "counterintelligence investigators routinely coordinate ... with the
FBI."


Please visit the link provided for the complete story.


What kind of crap is this! The government should not have the right to "spy" on it's citizens in the manner they continue to do. All the government has to do is say, "We think everyone is a terrorist.", then they'd be able to see the last time I bought my wife hygiene products? This is still America, and I will not live my life in fear of the boogeyman.

This is ludicrous!!!!



posted on Jan, 14 2007 @ 12:11 AM
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Wow
That is an abuse of power waiting to happen.
No wonder there are so many financial scandals come election time.



posted on Jan, 14 2007 @ 01:44 AM
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looks like the nwo is knocking on americas door and unfortunatly americans are letting it in.



posted on Jan, 14 2007 @ 01:05 PM
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Update:

VP Cheney is now openly stating that it is ok to spy on the American people. He's saying the government has the right to snoop into your financial transactions to see if you are a terrorist, or to snoop into your financial records because they think you might be a terrorist. What is this nation coming to!?


WASHINGTON - Vice President
Dick Cheney said Sunday the
Pentagon and
CIA are not violating people's rights by examining the banking and credit records of hundreds of Americans and others suspected of terrorism or espionage in the United States.
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Rep. Silvestre Reyes (news, bio, voting record), D-Texas, the new chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said his panel will be the judge of that.

National security letters permit the executive branch to seek records about people in terrorism and spy investigations without a judge's approval or grand jury subpoena.

"The Defense Department gets involved because we've got hundreds of bases inside the United States that are potential terrorist targets," Cheney said.

"The
Department of Defense has legitimate authority in this area. This is an authority that goes back three or four decades. It was reaffirmed in the Patriot Act," he said. "It's perfectly legitimate activity. There's nothing wrong with it or illegal. It doesn't violate people's civil rights."

In a statement Sunday, Reyes promised that his panel would take a careful look at those claims.

"Any expansion by the department into intelligence collection, particularly on U.S. soil, is something our committee will thorough review," Reyes said.

"We want our intelligence professionals to have strong tools that will enable them to interrupt the planning process of our enemies and to stop attacks against our country," he said. "But in doing so, we also want those tools to comply fully with the law and the Constitution."

*same source*



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