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SECRET FBI RULES<\/u> <\/strong>allow agents to obtain journalists\u2019 phone\u00a0records with approval from two internal officials \u2014 far less oversight than under normal judicial procedures.<\/p>\n The classified rules<\/a>, obtained by The Intercept<\/em> and dating from\u00a02013, govern the FBI\u2019s use of national security letters, which allow the bureau to obtain information about journalists\u2019 calls\u00a0without going to a judge or informing the news organization being targeted. They have previously been released only in heavily redacted form<\/a>.<\/p>\n Media advocates said the documents show that the FBI imposes few constraints on itself when it bypasses the requirement to go to court and obtain subpoenas or search warrants before accessing journalists\u2019 information.<\/p>\n The rules stipulate that obtaining a journalist\u2019s records with a national security letter (or NSL) requires the signoff of the FBI\u2019s general counsel and the executive assistant director of the bureau\u2019s National Security Branch<\/a>, in addition to the regular chain of approval. Generally speaking, there are a variety of FBI officials, including the agents in charge of field offices, who can sign off<\/a> that an NSL is \u201crelevant\u201d to a national security\u00a0investigation.<\/p>\n There is an extra step under the rules if the NSL targets a journalist in order \u201cto identify confidential news media sources.\u201d In that case, the general counsel and the executive assistant director must first consult with the assistant attorney general for the Justice Department\u2019s National Security Division.<\/p>\n But if the NSL is trying to identify a leaker by targeting the records of the potential source, and not the journalist, the Justice Department doesn\u2019t need to be involved.<\/p>\n The guidelines also specify that the extra oversight layers do not apply if the journalist is believed to be a spy or is part of a news organization \u201cassociated with a foreign intelligence service\u201d or \u201cotherwise acting on behalf of a foreign power.\u201d Unless, again, the purpose is to identify a leak, in which case, the general counsel and executive assistant director must approve the request.<\/p>\n