a law that allows government interception of banking data for intelligence/counterespionage purposes without notification... Date: Sun, 22 Oct 1995 03:11:05 -0400 (EDT) From: The Gate <gate@id.WING.NET> Subject: Foreign Intelligence To Become Alien Intelligence To: snet-l@world.std.com The following post make me think. What if the goverment could decide to interpret the meaning of the word foreign however they wanted. They could then say that anyone dealing with extra-terrestrials were foreigners, or that anyone not aligned with their thinking was a foreigner. I think that's the direction they're taking. Lee On Sat, 21 Oct 1995, Brad Dolan wrote:
---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 20 Oct 1995 18:07:35 -0700 Subject: Lack of secrecy in U.S. Banks
I ran across an interesting fragment of the U.S. Code.
Apparently, the Federal Government may access any banking records whatsoever if the Director of the FBI (or the Director's designee) certify that the information is sought for "foreign intelligence purposes." Further, it is illegal for anybody to disclose that the records were turned over to the government, or even sought. I do not know the penalties for disclosure.
The Attorney General appears to set guidelines for the dissemination of the information obtained through this law. Note that if banking privacy is violated for reasons which are not related to counter-intelligence operations, the victim is unlikely to be in a position to seek relief from the courts because the privacy violation is likely to remain secret.
I've enclosed the law below. I'm not a lawyer, so it raises more questions than it answers. Perhaps the more skilled readers on the list will be able to deduce the implications.
The U.S. Code is available at http://www.pls.com:8001/his/usc.html
This particular law is available at the improbable URL: http://www.pls.com:8001/cgi-bin/taos_doc.pl?unix+0+uscode+17566+query+a+Gove...
Here is the law itself:
-CITE-
12 USC Sec. 3414 01/24/94
-EXPCITE-
TITLE 12 - BANKS AND BANKING CHAPTER 35 - RIGHT TO FINANCIAL PRIVACY
-HEAD-
Sec. 3414. Special procedures
-STATUTE-
(a)(1) Nothing in this chapter (except sections 3415, 3417, 3418, and 3421 of this title) shall apply to the production and disclosure of financial records pursuant to requests from - (A) a Government authority authorized to conduct foreign counter- or foreign positive-intelligence activities for purposes of conducting such activities; or (B) the Secret Service for the purpose of conducting its protective functions (18 U.S.C. 3056; 3 U.S.C. 202, Public Law 90-331, as amended). (2) In the instances specified in paragraph (1), the Government authority shall submit to the financial institution the certificate required in section 3403(b) of this title signed by a supervisory official of a rank designated by the head of the Government authority. (3) No financial institution, or officer, employee, or agent of such institution, shall disclose to any person that a Government authority described in paragraph (1) has sought or obtained access to a customer's financial records. (4) The Government authority specified in paragraph (1) shall compile an annual tabulation of the occasions in which this section was used. (5)(A) Financial institutions, and officers, employees, and agents thereof, shall comply with a request for a customer's or entity's financial records made pursuant to this subsection by the Federal Bureau of Investigation when the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (or the Director's designee) certifies in writing to the financial institution that such records are sought for foreign counterintelligence purposes and that there are specific and articulable facts giving reason to believe that the customer or entity whose records are sought is a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power as defined in section 1801 of title 50. (B) The Federal Bureau of Investigation may disseminate information obtained pursuant to this paragraph only as provided in guidelines approved by the Attorney General for foreign intelligence collection and foreign counterintelligence investigations conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and, with respect to dissemination to an agency of the United States, only if such information is clearly relevant to the authorized responsibilities of such agency. (C) On a semiannual basis the Attorney General shall fully inform the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate concerning all requests made pursuant to this paragraph. (D) No financial institution, or officer, employee, or agent of such institution, shall disclose to any person that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has sought or obtained access to a customer's or entity's financial records under this paragraph. (b)(1) Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit a Government authority from obtaining financial records from a financial institution if the Government authority determines that delay in obtaining access to such records would create imminent danger of - (A) physical injury to any person; (B) serious property damage; or (C) flight to avoid prosecution. (2) In the instances specified in paragraph (1), the Government shall submit to the financial institution the certificate required in section 3403(b) of this title signed by a supervisory official of a rank designated by the head of the Government authority. (3) Within five days of obtaining access to financial records under this subsection, the Government authority shall file with the appropriate court a signed, sworn statement of a supervisory official of a rank designated by the head of the Government authority setting forth the grounds for the emergency access. The Government authority shall thereafter comply with the notice provisions of section 3409(c) of this title. (4) The Government authority specified in paragraph (1) shall compile an annual tabulation of the occasions in which this section was used.
-SOURCE-
(Pub. L. 95-630, title XI, Sec. 1114, Nov. 10, 1978, 92 Stat. 3707; Pub. L. 97-320, title IV, Sec. 432(b), Oct. 15, 1982, 96 Stat. 1527; Pub. L. 99-569, title IV, Sec. 404, Oct. 27, 1986, 100 Stat. 3197.)
-REFTEXT-
REFERENCES IN TEXT Public Law 90-331, as amended, referred to in subsec. (a)(1)(B), is Pub. L. 90-331, June 6, 1968, 82 Stat. 170, as amended, which is set out as a note under section 3056 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure.
-MISC2-
AMENDMENTS 1986 - Subsec. (a)(5). Pub. L. 99-569 added par. (5). 1982 - Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 97-320 struck out ''of'' after ''financial institution''.
-SECREF-
SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS This section is referred to in sections 3402, 3409, 3421 of this title. __________________________________________________________________________
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