National Security Letters

In case you were wondering what the law states regarding the "National Security Letter" that has been cited as the legal basis for gathering phone records. Here's the text from 18 U.S.C 2709:

Section 2709. Counterintelligence access to telephone toll and transactional records

      (a) Duty to Provide. - A wire or electronic communication service
   provider shall comply with a request for subscriber information and
   toll billing records information, or electronic communication
   transactional records in its custody or possession made by the
   Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation under subsection
   (b) of this section.
     (b) Required Certification. - The Director of the Federal Bureau
   of Investigation, or his designee in a position not lower than
   Deputy Assistant Director at Bureau headquarters or a Special Agent
   in Charge in a Bureau field office designated by the Director, may
   -
       (1) request the name, address, length of service, and local and
     long distance toll billing records of a person or entity if the
     Director (or his designee) certifies in writing to the wire or
     electronic communication service provider to which the request is
     made that the name, address, length of service, and toll billing
     records sought are relevant to an authorized investigation to
     protect against international terrorism or clandestine
     intelligence activities, provided that such an investigation of a
     United States person is not conducted solely on the basis of
     activities protected by the first amendment to the Constitution
     of the United States; and
       (2) request the name, address, and length of service of a
     person or entity if the Director (or his designee) certifies in
     writing to the wire or electronic communication service provider
     to which the request is made that the information sought is
     relevant to an authorized investigation to protect against
     international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities,
     provided that such an investigation of a United States person is
      not conducted solely upon the basis of activities protected by
      the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
     (c) Prohibition of Certain Disclosure. - No wire or electronic
   communication service provider, or officer, employee, or agent
   thereof, shall disclose to any person that the Federal Bureau of
   Investigation has sought or obtained access to information or
   records under this section.
     (d) Dissemination by Bureau. - The Federal Bureau of
   Investigation may disseminate information and records obtained
   under this section only as provided in guidelines approved by the
   Attorney General for foreign intelligence collection and foreign
   counterintelligence investigations conducted by the Federal Bureau
   of Investigation, and, with respect to dissemination to an agency
   of the United States, only if such information is clearly relevant
   to the authorized responsibilities of such agency.
     (e) Requirement That Certain Congressional Bodies Be Informed. -
    On a semiannual basis the Director of the Federal Bureau of
    Investigation shall fully inform the Permanent Select Committee on
    Intelligence of the House of Representatives and the Select
    Committee on Intelligence of the Senate, and the Committee on the
    Judiciary of the House of Representatives and the Committee on the
    Judiciary of the Senate, concerning all requests made under
    subsection (b) of this section.

I've highlighted a couple of sections that may be of interest, namely the 1st Amendment exception, and the Congressional notification clause.
It seems to me that while the service provider may not divulge the results of an NSL, there's nothing that stops a member of Congress on the appropriate Committee from doing so. I also wonder if the personal disclosure prohibition precludes some a certain set a 2709(a) letter from mysteriously turning up on a cafe table at Starbucks, say.

I'm just sayin'...