Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-08), Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, today expressed his outrage over reports that an internal FBI audit shows that agents possibly violated the law or internal rules more than 1,000 times while misusing the National Security Letter (NSL) authority vastly expanded by the Patriot Act. The NSL authority was used by FBI agents to gather information on domestic phone calls, e-mails and other communications as well as individual financial records. Reports of the abuses come as the FBI unveiled new guidelines for the use of NSLs that fails to adequately protect the privacy of innocent Americans.

Said Rep. Nadler, Co-Chair of the bipartisan Patriot Act Reform Caucus:

"Today’s reports only heighten the clear need for fixes to the NSL authority. The Justice Department’s Inspector General previously found wide-spread abuses of the FBI’s authority to issue NSLs – we now know that the problems go much further than initially disclosed. From the beginning, I have said that unchecked power would lead to rampant abuse. It’s clear, yet again, that reforms are needed.

"These abuses by the DOJ and FBI have proven that legislative fixes are necessary. In the coming weeks, I plan on holding continued oversight hearings on the NSL authority as part of a series of hearing entitled, ‘The Constitution in Crisis: The State of Civil Liberties in America.’ I will also work with my colleagues to consider and craft legislation that would place adequate checks on the FBI’s investigatory power.

"The new FBI guidelines regarding the use of NSLs fall far short of protecting the privacy of innocent Americans. It is not enough to mandate that the FBI fix internal management problems and record keeping, because the statute itself authorizes the unchecked collection of information on innocent Americans."