MEMORANDUM FOR DIRECTOR ROBERT S. MUELLER

FROM: THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

SUBJECT: PATRIOT ACT SECTION 215

This memorandum confirms I have declassified the number of times to date the Department of Justice, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), has utilized Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act relating to the production of business records. The number of times Section 215 has been used to date is zero (0).

I know you share my concern that the public not be misled regarding the manner in which the U.S. Department of Justice, and the FBI in particular, have been utilizing the authorities provided in the USA PATRIOT Act. Public confidence in law enforcement is of paramount importance. That is why I have taken this action despite the fact that it is generally not in the interest of the United States to disclose information of this nature.

While Congress has regularly been informed regarding the number of times Section 215 has been used, and while individual Members of Congress have been able to review that information, to date we have not been able to counter the troubling amount of public distortion and misinformation in connection with Section 215. Consequently, I have determined that it is in the public interest and the best interest of law enforcement to declassify this information.

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