http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/07/AR2005060701583.html
washingtonpost.com An Established Law Enforcement Tool Post Wednesday, June 8, 2005; A20 John Mintz wrote that information gathered under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) may be used in a criminal trial because "the USA Patriot Act of 2001 and a FISA appeals court decision in 2003 had torn down" a supposedly unbreachable "wall" that "had previously prevented FBI intelligence agents from sharing any information about the FISA tapes with agents pursuing criminal cases" [news story, June 5]. That is incorrect. Evidence from FISA wiretaps and physical searches has long been shared with criminal investigators and prosecutors, albeit in accordance with legal procedures required by the FISA court and the attorney general. FISA evidence also has been used in numerous criminal prosecutions of spies and terrorists. But most cases involving FISA evidence (such as the Aldrich Ames spy case) were resolved by plea bargains, partly because the government often has been reluctant to publicly reveal details of its use of FISA. The bottom line, though, is that the use of FISA in criminal investigations dates to the law's passage in 1978. MICHAEL VATIS New York The writer was an official in the Justice Department from 1994 to 1998 and in the FBI from 1998 to 2001. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> DonorsChoose. A simple way to provide underprivileged children resources often lacking in public schools. Fund a student project in NYC/NC today! http://us.click.yahoo.com/EHLuJD/.WnJAA/cUmLAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
