STATEMENT OF MARK CORALLO, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, ON THE DEPARTMENT'S DECISION TO APPEAL THE NATIONAL SECURITY LETTER RULING BY THE DISTRICT COURT IN NEW YORK

The following press release was published by the US Department of Justice on Sept. 30, 2004. It is reproduced in full below.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2004 WWW.USDOJ.GOV OPA (202) 514-2008 TDD (202) 514-1888 "The Justice Department will continue to defend our ability to protect the American people from our terrorist enemies.

"The New York district court has struck down as unconstitutional an important act of Congress, the 1986 National Security Letter statute (18 USC 2709). That decision takes away a tool for fighting terrorism that the Congress has authorized. The Department of Justice Department will appeal that decision.

"We will continue to defend our ability to protect our people, to safeguard their liberty, and preserve our way of life.

"We will also work with the Congress to clarify, improve and, where necessary, enhance our legal tools to fight the terrorists and prevent another attack." 04-664

Source: US Department of Justice