From: "ARON KAY" <pieman-AT-pieman.org>
Subject: Fw: [stop-polabuse] Federal Agents Without Subpoenas Asking Firms for Records
Date: Fri, 9 Nov 2001 05:39:24 -0500




----- Original Message -----
From: "radtimes" <resist-AT-best.com>
To: <stop-polabuse-AT-yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, November 08, 2001 5:32 PM
Subject: [stop-polabuse] Federal Agents Without Subpoenas Asking Firms for
Records


>
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50226-2001Nov6.html
> Legal Niceties Aside . . .
> Federal Agents Without Subpoenas Asking Firms for Records
>
> By Daniela Deane
> Washington Post Staff Writer
> Wednesday, November 7, 2001; Page E01
>
>
> Two FBI agents, flashing badges and speaking quietly and politely, walked
> into a local business recently and asked for confidential company
> information.
>
> The company's lawyer said the agents wanted to review the records right
then
> and there. But they didn't have a subpoena, a summons, a warrant or
anything
> else that resembled a court order.
>
> "They don't seem to be bothering with all that these days," said Bill
> Lawler, the firm's outside counsel and a partner at Vinson & Elkins in the
> District. "They just show up and say 'Here we are' and 'Give us your
stuff.'
> "
>
> Lawler, a former federal prosecutor who specializes in government
> investigation work, said two other clients elsewhere have had similar
visits
> by federal agents since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Lawler, citing
> attorney-client confidentiality, declined to identify the companies. He
said
> only that they were a financial services company and two
telecommunications
> firms.
>
> "In some cases, some information has been handed over with the appropriate
> safeguards," Lawler said.
>
> Lawyers who specialize in government investigations predict that such
> requests will become more frequent. The FBI declined comment.
>
> The anti-terrorism law passed two weeks ago allows the FBI to shift its
> focus from solving crimes to gathering domestic intelligence. The Treasury
> Department has been charged with putting together a financial
> intelligence-gathering system whose data are retrievable by the CIA. And
the
> CIA now has the authority to influence domestic FBI surveillance
operations.
>
> In short, the new law lays the groundwork for a domestic
> intelligence-gathering system with unprecedented power.
>
> Lawyers say the FBI is within its rights to show up unannounced and ask
for
> information. After all, it's only asking. But they caution that there may
be
> legal implications for a company that hands over confidential information.
>
> So what's a business to do when the feds show up unexpectedly? Here's some
> advice from local lawyers:
>
> . Immediately call either the company lawyer or, if there's no inside
> counsel, an outside lawyer with experience in government investigations.
>
> "If what the agents are requesting does not implicate issues of privilege,
> corporate confidences and personnel information, the company could just
> comply," said DeMaurice Smith, a criminal-defense lawyer and partner at
> Latham & Watkins in the District. "But they need to be sure it doesn't. It
> all depends on the nature of the request." Smith said that although he
> hasn't received any calls from clients with such problems, he's "heard
> through the grapevine that others have."
>
> Banks, for example, must see a subpoena, search warrant or summons before
> turning over any client information, according to the American Bankers
> Association.
>
> "The laws are very clear when it comes to banks," said John Byrne, senior
> counsel at the trade group. "Privacy is a major issue. We can't lose sight
> of that even if we are in a different time."
>
> Byrne said that although the Washington-based association hasn't received
> any reports of federal agents showing up without court orders, several
banks
> have asked what they should do if approached.
>
> "The answer is still the same," Byrne said. "There is no reason to
> circumvent the rules."
>
> . Name a point person in the company to evaluate requests for information
> from government agents.
>
> "If you have a point person to keep track of what the requests are, the
> company can always speak with one voice," said Adam Noffinger, a former
> federal prosecutor and a lawyer with Piper, Marbury, Rudnick and Wolfe in
> Washington. "Companies should let their employees know they should report
> the request to the point person and let that person deal with the
requests.
> You don't want to advise employees not to speak. However, they cannot be
> required to speak with the FBI."
>
> Noffinger said the advantage of appointing a lawyer to be the point person
> would be that when the lawyer talks with employees, those conversations
> would be privileged and thus subject to confidentiality rules.
>
> . Be absolutely sure that the people asking for information are legitimate
> government agents. Lawyers say criminals could seek to impersonate federal
> authorities.
>
> "Most people don't even know what an FBI badge looks like," said Stephen
> Saltzburg, a law professor at George Washington University and a member of
> an American Bar Association task force on terrorism. "The propensity to
> impersonate federal officials could become a tremendous problem. The
> criminal mind rarely sees a vacuum it doesn't want to fill."
>
> How are companies dealing with the possibility of increased federal
> information requests? Some aren't talking; others say it hasn't been an
> issue.
>
> For instance, local telecommunications giants America Online and Verizon
> said they have had no unexpected visits by federal agents looking for
> confidential information.
>
> "We have cooperated with law enforcement in the wake of September 11,"
said
> Nicholas Graham, a spokesman for AOL, the Dulles-based Internet arm of AOL
> Time Warner Inc. "We did work with them on some inquiries they had. We
don't
> get into specifics regarding ongoing criminal investigations. But
> everything's been done under the proper legal guidelines and procedures."
>
> Lawyers and legal experts predict that the anti-terrorism law will be used
> in government investigations for years. They also speculate that both
> federal officers and government prosecutors will use the law in different
> ways and to achieve various ends.
>
> "These are broad powers that were enacted to deal with very extreme and
dire
> circumstances," Noffinger said. "When the extreme and dire circumstances
> cease to exist, though, creative lawyers and agents will continue to use
the
> statutes beyond the specific purposes for which they were originally
enacted
> and beyond their original context.
>
> "It doesn't automatically mean that the laws are going to be abused. It
just
> means that the laws will be used aggressively to apply to whatever type of
> activity the Justice Department is focusing on. History has shown us
that."
>
>
>
>
>
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