Really an error?

Or an attempt to circumvent the law? The Inspector General of the Justice Department has found problems in the issuance of 7% of a sampling of national security letters. You know those letters by which te FBI can obtain your phone, e-mail and financial records without your knowledge. In the problem cases there was no documentation as to why the records were needed, or no emergency as claimed, or not even an investigation of the person.

Of course, the FBI says that the problems were real errors, not anything deliberate like violating the law.