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US Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities (Church Committee) (1975)
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National Security Letters And Intelligence Oversight, Michael J. Greenlee
National Security Letters And Intelligence Oversight, Michael J. Greenlee
Michael Greenlee
The history of NSL [national security letter] powers can serve as an illuminating example of the post-Church Committee development of intelligence investigations. Many of the Church Committee findings and recommendations concerning the need for expanded oversight to prevent the executive branch from violating or ignoring the law, excessively using intrusive investigation techniques, and conducting overbroad investigations with inadequate controls on the retention and dissemination of the information gathered are all reflected in the development of NSL powers and authorities from their creation in 1978 through passage of the PlRA [USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act] in 2006. At each stage …