National Security Letters (NSL) are roughly comparable to administrative subpoenas. Intelligence agencies issue them for intelligence gathering purposes to telephone companies; internet service providers, consumer credit reporting agencies, banks, and other financial institutions, directing the recipients to turn over certain customer records and similar information. This book and its corresponding volumes present an overview of the background and issues surrounding the use of National Security Letters, the Patriot Act and First Amendment implications.

Five federal statutes authorize intelligence officials to request certain business record information in connection with national security investigations. The authority to issue these national security letters (NSLs) is comparable to the authority to issue administrative subpoenas. The USA PATRIOT Act expanded the authority under four of the NSL statutes and created the fifth. Thereafter, the authority has been reported to have been widely used. Prospects of its continued use dimmed, however, after two lower federal courts held that the lack of judicial review and the absolute confidentiality requirements in one of the statutes rendered it constitutionally suspect.

Five federal statutes authorize intelligence officials to request certain business record information in connection with national security investigations. The authority to issue these national security letters (NSLs) is comparable to the authority to issue administrative subpoenas. The USA PATRIOT Act expanded the authority to issue four of the NSL statutes and created the fifth. Thereafter, the authority has been reported to have been widely used. Prospects of its continued use dimmed, however, after two lower federal courts held the lack of judicial review and the absolute confidentiality requirements in one of the statutes rendered it constitutionally suspect. The USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3199), P.L. 109-177, and its companion P.L. 109-178, amended the five NSL sections to expressly provide for judicial review of both the NSLs and the confidentiality requirements that attend them. The sections have also been made explicitly judicially enforceable and sanctions recognized for failure to comply with an NSL request or to breach NSL confidentiality requirements with the intent to obstruct justice. The use of the authority has been made subject to greater Congressional oversight. The text of the five provisions -- section 1114(a)(5) of the Right to Financial Privacy Act (12 U.S.C. 3414(a)(5)); sections 626 and 627 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681u, 1681v); section 2709 of title 18 of the United States Code; and section 802 of the National Security Act (50 U.S.C. 436) -- in their amended form have been appended.

Five statutory provisions vest government agencies responsible for certain foreign intelligence investigations (principally the Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI]) with authority to issue written commands comparable to administrative subpoenas. These National Security Letters (NSLs) seek customer and consumer transaction information in national security investigations from communications providers, financial institutions, and credit agencies. Section 505 of the USA PATRIOT Act expanded the circumstances under which an NSL could be used. Subsequent press accounts suggested that their use had become widespread. Two lower federal courts, however, found the uncertainties, practices, and policies associated with the use of NSL authority contrary to the First Amendment right of freedom of speech, and thus brought into question the extent to which NSL authority could be used in the future. The USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act, P.L. 109-177, 120 Stat. 192 (2006) (H.R. 3199), and P.L. 109178, 120 Stat. 278 (2006) (S. 2271), amend the NSL statutes and related law to address some of the concerns raised by critics and the courts. This is an abridged version of CRS Report RL33320, National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: Legal Background and Recent Amendments, without the footnotes, appendices, and most of the citations to authority found in the longer report.

Contents: (1) Intro.; (2) Background: USA PATRIOT Act; 2006 Amend.; IG Reports: The First IG Report; Exigent Letters; The Second IG Report; Secrecy, Judicial Review and the Second Circuit; Judicial Review of NSLs; Proposed Amend.: Sunset and Repeal; Non-disclosure; Judicial Review of NSL Itself; Issuance and Content; Minimization Requirements; Emergency Practices; Reports and Audits; Text of NSL Statutes on October 25, 2001 and Now: 12 U.S.C. 3414(a)(5) (on Oct. 25, 2001); 12 U.S.C. 3414(a)(5); 15 U.S.C. 1681u(a), (b)(on Oct. 25, 2001); 15 U.S.C. 1681u(a), (b); 18 U.S.C. 2709 (as of Oct. 25, 2001); 18 U.S.C. 2709; 15 U.S.C. 1681v (as of Oct. 25, 2001); 15 U.S.C. 1681v; 50 U.S.C. 436 (as of Oct. 25, 2001); 50 U.S.C. 436. Illustrations.

National Security Letters (NSL) are roughly comparable to administrative subpoenas. Intelligence agencies issue them for intelligence gathering purposes to telephone companies; internet service providers, consumer credit reporting agencies, banks, and other financial institutions, directing the recipients to turn over certain customer records and similar information. This book and its corresponding volume present an overview of the background and issues surrounding the use of National Security Letters, the Patriot Act and First Amendment implications.