Washington Post Editorial Details Patriot Act Abuse Claim

As I was reading Editor & Publisher today, I was shaken by the first story that I read. The journal includes an article about today’s Washington Post editorial, written by an anonymous writer, regarding a national security letter that the writer received while serving as the president of an Internet access firm. In the piece, the Internet consultant expresses discontent with the Patriot Act provision that gives the FBI expanded power to issue “national security letters.”

Here is some of what the writer said:

Three years ago, I received a national security letter (NSL) in my capacity as the president of a small Internet access and consulting business. The letter ordered me to provide sensitive information about one of my clients. There was no indication that a judge had reviewed or approved the letter, and it turned out that none had. The letter came with a gag provision that prohibited me from telling anyone, including my client, that the FBI was seeking this information. Based on the context of the demand -- a context that the FBI still won't let me discuss publicly -- I suspected that the FBI was abusing its power and that the letter sought information to which the FBI was not entitled …

Living under the gag order has been stressful and surreal. 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.

I resent being conscripted as a secret informer for the government and being made to mislead those who are close to me, especially because I have doubts about the legitimacy of the underlying investigation.

The anonymous writer also said that if he had not been under a gag order, he would have voiced his concerns about the Patriot Act. He also said he would have contacted Congress to disucss his experiences with the FBI and “to advocate changes in the law.”

Read the entire, disturbing, piece in today’s Washington Post.