From today’s New York Times:
After fighting ferociously for months, federal prosecutors relented yesterday and agreed to allow a Connecticut library group to identify itself as the recipient of a secret F.B.I. demand for records in a counterterrorism investigation.[...]
According to court records, the federal government’s national security letter to Library Connection last year asked Mr. Christian to “personally” hand over records that might be of use in a counterterrorism investigation and that he not disclose the matter “to any person.”
But the group challenged the request in federal court, arguing through its lawyers that it wanted the ban lifted immediately. The group said that time was of the essence in lifting the ban because the Patriot Act was set to be reauthorized by Dec. 31 and, as a party with an interest in the matter, it wanted the right to speak out against the act.
United States District Judge Janet C. Hall agreed with the group, ruling last year that the order of silence should be lifted. But the federal government appealed the decision, ultimately preventing the group from weighing in on how the Patriot Act should be rewritten before the Dec. 31 deadline.
Ms. Beeson said yesterday that she believed the government’s decision to drop the appeal was politically timed.
The entire matter should have been dropped when the FBI accidentally leaked the information by not redacting the name of the library group in public court documents…which leads me to be more willing to believe that there was an ulterior motive of keeping the librarians out of the Patriot Act debate.
Now that that’s passed, rather than risking a court precedent that such gags are potentially overbroad and unconstitutional…the feds can drop the case.