I have never received a National Security Letter. NSLs require the recipient to "turn over information." I understand this as typical federal jackbootedness, but I do understand it. The part about how "this letter does not exist – tell no one" seems over the top, Mafioso, ten-year-old little boys playing spygames.

Apparently, most people who received these letters obeyed the gag orders, but finally, last December the court finally ruled that these administrative subpoenas violated the First Amendment, given the amazing lack of judicial oversight in their creation.

Then there is the state secrets gag order placed on Sibel Edmonds in 2002, one she partially violated in early 2008. The government’s approach worked – the government criminals she witnessed got time and space, while her life has been put on hold, constrained in every dimension.

Now we have news about Clive Stafford Smith, a lawyer for tortured Gitmo prisoner Binyam Mohamed, who faces six months in jail himself. His crime? He faxed an unclassified letter entitled. "Re: Torture and Abuse of British Resident Binyam Mohamed" to the White House. The letter, written in clear English, included a copy of the U.S. government-redacted version, courtesy of the hard work of "privilege review team – officials from the U.S. Department of Defense who monitor and censor communication between Guantánamo prisoners and their lawyers."

http://www.lewrockwell.com/kwiatkowski/kwiatkowski228.html