◆ SpookStack

was an emergency. Then they were expected to issue a grand jury subpoena or national security letter which legally authorized the collection after the fact. Agents often did not follow up with that paperwork, the inspector general's investigation found." That we know. The new instructions -- which according to The Washington Post were just issued to the FBI -- tell agents there is no need to follow up with national security letters or subpoenas. The agents are also told that the new letter template is the preferred method -- preferred method in emergences, but that they may make requests orally, with no paperwork sent to phone companies. So in other words, it appears from this morning's Washington Post that instructions are now being given to the FBI not to bother with any backup documentation after an oral request to the phone companies for records invading people's privacy. CAPRONI: No. Quite the contrary. The instructions are that if they get information based on an oral request -- and just to give an example of why that -- when that might be appropriate. Ifa child has been kidnapped and the ransom call comes in... (CROSSTALK) NADLER: Oh, I don't -- obviously, in those -- I'm not questioning the need in an emergency like that for getting records right away. Obviously. (CROSSTALK) CAPRONI: ... get them on an oral request. NADLER: I don't doubt it. What I'm questioning is that, according to today's Washington Post, the opposite of what the two of you are saying is the case and that now they seem to be saying, "Well, we'll take care of this lack of follow-up by documentation by simply declaring it unnecessary.” CAPRONI: No, Congressman, that’s not the policy. The policy now is that if a request is going to be made on an emergency basis for records, that has to be documented. It has to be documented in the first instance in the request. But if there is not time to do that so that you need an oral request, then that has to be documented to the file, together with the approval for it. So it is, again, an internal control to avoid the problem that was existing in CAU, which was "emergency" had become a flexible term... NADLER: