On 28 Mar 2002 at 19:17, Declan McCullagh wrote: > DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE > FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE > THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2002 > TAX > (202) 514-2007 > TDD (202) 514-1888 > WWW.USDOJ.GOV > > COURT APPROVES IRS SUMMONS FOR OFFSHORE CREDIT CARD RECORDS Records from > VISA International Will Identify People Who Use Offshore Credit Cards to > Evade Federal Income Taxes WASHINGTON, D.C. - A federal court in San > Francisco, Calif. on Wednesday issued an order authorizing the IRS to serve > a summons on VISA International for offshore credit card records. The > court acted just two days after the Justice Department filed a petition for > approval of a "John Doe" summons, which permits the IRS to obtain > information about possible tax fraud by people whose identities are unknown.
Minor correction: as was previously pointed out, a "John Doe summons" is a summins for a particular person suspected of a specific crime, whose identity is unknown. The proper legal term for this type of warrant is a "writ of assistance". George
