An audit revealed that the FBI has improperly used "national security letters"---a kind of subpoena it can issue without the approval of a judge or prosecutor.

An audit revealed that the FBI has improperly used "national security letters"---a kind of subpoena it can issue without the approval of a judge or prosecutor. Nothing more sinister than incompetence was afoot. In some cases, for example, agents transposed digits in phone numbers and ended up tracking the wrong people. Worse, the bureau did not keep good records on its NSL use, making it impossible for Congress to exercise oversight. Critics of the War on Terror say that the FBI shouldn't have the authority to issue these letters in the first place. Although we have supported most of the legal changes designed to aid the war, on this issue we are inclined to agree that the FBI's authority should be scaled back. Attorneys at the Justice Department should sign off before the FBI issues these letters. No compelling case has been made that this procedure would hinder the FBI's work. At the same time, however, concern over this issue should not become an excuse for scattershot attacks on the Patriot Act and other needed tools of the War on Terror.