Pentagon viewing Americans' Financial Records

The Pentagon and CIA have been using national security letters to observe the credit and banking records of Americans and others suspected of terrorism or espionage within the United States.

The national security letters allow the executive branch to obtain records of people being investigated in terror and spy cases without grand jury subpoena or approval by a judge.

Although it is not clear how many requests have been made, spokesman for the Pentagon Bryan Whitman said the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Right to Financial Privacy Act and the National Security Act allow authorities to seek the records.

Vice President Dick Cheney has affirmed and defended the practice.

"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."

Not everyone agrees. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, the new chairman of the House Intelligence Committee say his panel will investigate Cheney's claims.

Dholtz at GlobalPOV also calls for oversight:

The problem with this story like so many others, is that although it feels reasonable to not stop the government from doing reasonable things to facilitate an ongoing investigation, there's a big element of trust here to not require any checks and balances or oversight on the government throughout the process. IMHO, the best government is one who is being watched, while they watch over us. By that standard, this is a less-than-perfect government.

-Dippold

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