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National Security Letters — Part 1

1188 pages · May 11, 2026 · Document date: Dec 4, 1981 · Broad topic: General · Topic: National Security Letters · 1018 pages OCR'd
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SMITIL: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I'm hoping my first question won't count against my time. Mr. Fine, I noticed in reading your bio that when you were a senior in college and co- captain of the basketbal! team, you were recruited by the San Antonio Spurs. They happen to be my hometown team. My question is this: Don't you regret not playing for the Spurs... (LAUGHTER) .. father than becoming a Rhodes scholar and graduating from Harvard Law School? CONYERS: The gentleman's time has expired. (LAUGHTER) FINE: Congressman, I was drafted in the 10th round by the San Antonio Spurs. And if I was maybe a little taller than 5'9", ] might have had a chance to play. So I don't really regret that my future was in the law, rather than professional basketball. But I tell people who don't believe I actually played basketball when they see me at 5'9", before I started this job as the 1.G., I was 6'9". (LAUGHTER) SMITH: Very good answer. Mr. Fine and Ms. Caproni, let me address a more serious question to both of you all, and it is this: We've unearthed these problems that are recognized and that are being dealt with. And some of the reasons for those problems have already been seen and the practice has been discontinued. But my question is this: Do you all feel that the problem is with how the law was enforced rather than with the taw itself? In other words, ifthe law were carried out as intended, doesn't that solve our problem’? Mr. Fine, first. FINE: You know, Congressman, {I'm really not in a position to say what the law should be or if there should be modifications to the law. My job is to look at the law and look at the application of the law and see the problems that occurred. I do believe that if the FBI had assiduously and carefully applied the law, we wouldn't have seen as many problems as we have. And it really was unacceptable and inexcusable what happened here. SMITH: Ms. Caproni?
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