Quote
National security letters permit the executive branch to seek records about people in terrorism and spy investigations without a judge's approval or grand jury subpoena.
"The Defense Department gets involved because we've got hundreds of bases inside the United States that are potential terrorist targets," Cheney said.
"The Department of Defense has legitimate authority in this area. This is an authority that goes back three or four decades. It was reaffirmed in the Patriot Act," he said. "It's perfectly legitimate activity. There's nothing wrong with it or illegal. It doesn't violate people's civil rights.
My ccomments:
Maybe I am totally wrong and have been living with misconception, but I have had the understanding that the CIA was not allowed to operate within the U.S.
It seems to me that allowing the DOD to investigate is close to if not an actual violation of posse comitatus, as civilian investigation is a police action.
We have in place methods of gaining quick court orders and warrants, so why is the secrecy needed? Is the WH saying they do not trust our court systems with this information?
And lastly, it was only a matter of time but now we have a government official quoting the government's rights granted by the Patriot Act to justify nefarious actions.
So the question is: should the executive branch be allowed to secretly fight its global war on terror without judicial or congressional oversight? Where do individual rights of privacy and national security concerns merge?