◆ SpookStack

We believe that significant ciTorts are necessary to ensure that the FBI's use of national] security letters is conducted in full accord with the statutes, attorney general guidelines and FBI policy. That concludes my testimony. And 1 would be pleased to answer any questions. CONYERS: Thank you, Atlomey General (sic). Will the person in the back row standing up please sit down or leave this committee room? I'm now pleased to welcome the general counsel for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ms. Valerie Caproni. CAPRONI: Thank you. Good morning, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Smith and members of the committee, It's my pleasure to appear before you today to discuss the recent report by the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General regarding the FBI's use of national security letters, I've submitted a detailed written statement, and, in the interest of time, will stress only a few points. The LG's report is a fair report that acknowledges the importance of national security letters to the ability of the FBI to keep the country safe and the difficult environment in which our employees have been working since 9/11. The LG. found no deliberate or intentional misuse of the national security letter authorities, A.G. guidelines or FBI policy. Nevertheless, the IG, review identified several areas of inadequate auditing and oversight of these vital investigative tools, as well as processes thal were simply inappropriate. The FBI fully supports each of the I.G.'s recommendations and have implemented other remedial steps not proposed by the 1.G. Collectively, these reforms will ensure full compliance with both the letter and the spirit of the law. NSLs generally permit us to obtain the basic building blocks of an investigation from third-party businesses, Unlike grand jury subpoenas used in criminal cases, however, national security letter authority comes from several distinct statutes and they have very specific rules that accompany them. The NSL authority used most frequently by the FBI is that provided by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, or ECPA. Through an ECPA NSL, the FBI can obtain subscriber information for telephones and electronic communications. It can obtain toll billing information and electronic communication transaction records. Significantly, the FB! cannot obtain the content of communications through an ECPA NSL. That requires a court order. ECPA NSLs are by far the most common NSL that we use. CAPRONI.