From the ACLU Blog:
Over the weekend, WNYC’s On the Media (OTM) featured an interview with ACLU client Nick Merrill, who challenged the National Security Letter he received six years ago in 2004. (See Nick’s NSL here.) The ACLU represented Nick in his successful challenge of his NSL; his was the first lawsuit brought against the powers of the then-new Patriot Act. It was only late last year that he was finally able to speak publicly about the case.
Nick told OTM’s Bob Garfield that you don’t need gag people or companies to protect national security:
Numerous terrorism plots have been broken up using those types of tools. If we don’t have checks and balances, then we’re really, I think, going down a dangerous path, and the purpose of having a judge listen to the evidence from law enforcement is to provide a check on their power.
Read more on The Blog of Rights.