Washington Post's Response to DOJ Patriot Act Letter

Washington Post's Response to DOJ Patriot Act Letter:

"A 10-page letter from the Justice Department to the House and Senate Judiciary Committee chairmen, dated Nov. 23 and distributed widely this week, took issue with a Nov. 6 article in The Washington Post about the FBI's use of 'national security letters' under the Patriot Act. The Washington Post published an article about the Justice Department letter on Wednesday and washingtonpost.com reprints it today in full. What follows is The Post's reply to assertions that the article contained 'many ... distortions and falsehoods':

The Justice Department did not authorize interviews for the disputed article before it appeared or respond to questions sent by email.

The Nov. 23 letter to Congress from Assistant Attorney General William E. Moschella said The Post created the false impression that national security letters empower the FBI 'to listen to phone calls or read emails.'

The article in fact said the reverse: 'A national security letter cannot be used to authorize eavesdropping or to read the contents of e-mail.'"