Subpoenas - President uses Powers Under IEEPA to Access Financial Records

As has been widely reported, President Bush has exercised the authority given to him under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to issue administrative subpoenas to banking institutions in order to gain access financial transaction information. IEEPA is a relatively old law that has been used for decades by the President to control financial transactions between U.S. citizens (including corporations) and foreign nations and individuals. For example, using IEEPA, the Department of Treasury, restricts U.S. citizens from doing business with North Korea. This recent use of IEEPA is important for Internet infrastructure providers for two reasons: first, it again highlights the need for a subpoena policy to ensure that you can differentiate between subpoenas and other requests for information you are required to respond to, and those that are simply requests. As a second matter, Internet infrastructure providers need to be aware of U.S. laws that regulate financial transactions. These laws, typically administered by the Department of Treasury, contain broad prohibitions on doing business with certain individuals and entities. Unlike laws that specifically target Internet transactions, these laws do not contain “safe harbors” for innocent violations. Washington Post Article Office of Foreign Assets Control Web Site