*** Rep. Nadler Lauds Court’s Decision on National Security Letters ***
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CONGRESSMAN
JERROLD NADLER
8th Congressional District of New York
Rep. Nadler Lauds Court’s Decision on National Security Letters
Key Ruling in U.S. Federal Court Calls Gag Rule for National Security Letters Unconstitutional
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, December 15, 2008
CONTACT: John Doty, 202-225-5635
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-08), Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, today saluted a federal court ruling that the National Security Letter (NSL) provision within the USA PATRIOT Act is unconstitutional.
Judge Victor Marrero of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled today that the USA PATRIOT Act’s gag rule silencing recipients of NSLs is in direct violation of the First Amendment. As is now practiced, the FBI has insisted upon gag orders against businesses or individuals after issuing the NSLs. Today’s ruling – Judge Marrero’s third such challenge to NSL abuses since 2004 – was prompted by a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Civil Liberties Union against the FBI.
“Judge Marrero’s decision is yet another confirmation that parts of the USA PATRIOT Act, as it is currently written, are unconstitutional and in need of immediate legislative correction,” said Rep. Nadler. “After multiple rulings documenting the FBI’s misuse of NSL authority, and after the U.S. Department of Justice’s own illuminating reports on the epidemic of NSL abuses, there is no longer any rational argument to justify the status quo. We must fix the USA PATRIOT Act.”
Rep. Nadler, a Chair of the Patriot Act Reform Caucus, has been an active critic of executive abuses for many years. He has held numerous hearings on the Bush Administration’s violations of our civil liberties, including hearings on the issue of NSLs. In July 2007, Rep. Nadler introduced the bipartisan National Security Letters Reform Act. He plans to reintroduce it early in the 111th Congress.
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Jerrold Nadler has served in Congress since 1992. He represents New York’s 8th Congressional District, which includes parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
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