Return to sender

In a recent USA Today report by Richard Willing, U.S. Justice Department figures showed that last year 9,254 national security Letters concerning 3,501 Individuals were served by the FBI.

“These letters are valuable to the bureau’s post -911 mission to disrupt terrorists,” FBI assistant director David Szady said in the report.

These letters are meant for investigators to move from suspect to suspect to allow investigation on specific individuals that may pose treat to national security. The letters are sent to people or record keepers to acquire otherwise restricted information. However, before the Act was revised in March, the FBI did not have to disclose how many letters were issued to the public. Making it hard to determine how many civilians were actually being investigated. This could be a benefit for reporters that want to acquire this type of information. But because the recipients are hardly ever named, it makes it hard to know how the letters are used, Willing said in the USA Today Report.