Why is this not a scandal? Because no one cares about it.

Neither Rain, Sleet, nor Snow Will Stop the Post Office From Spying on You



You may remember that last year some nut was arrested for mailing bombs to prominent Democrats, media outlets, and opponents of Donald Trump. Less than a week after the bombs went out, a suspect was arrested. Almost immediately, video turned up of him at a Trump rally, wearing a “Make America Great Again” hate and chanting for the camera. He was soon tried, convicted, and jailed. End of story.



But it wasn’t the end of the story. The investigation into the bomb incidents focused attention on an almost unknown federal surveillance program—one that poses a direct threat to the privacy and constitutional rights of every American. It’s called the “Mail Cover Program” and it’s run by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS). Yes, even the Post Office is spying on us.



The Mail Cover Program allows postal employees to photograph and send to federal law enforcement organizations (FBI, DHS, Secret Service, etc.) the front and back of every piece of mail the Post Office processes. It also retains the information digitally and provides it to any government agency that wants it—without a warrant.

Mail cover is defined by the U.S. Postal Regulations 39 CFR 233.3[2] and the Internal Revenue Manual[3] as follows:



Mail cover is the process by which a nonconsensual record is made of any data appearing on the outside cover of sealed or unsealed mail; or by which a record is made of the contents of any unsealed mail, as allowed by law, to obtain information to protect national security; locate a fugitive; obtain evidence of the commission or attempted commission of a crime; obtain evidence of a violation or attempted violation of a postal statute; or assist in the identification of property, proceeds, or assets forfeitable under law.



According to official statistics obtained through a FOIA request by the National Law Journal, the number of mail covers in 1984 was 9,022 and increased to 14,077 in 2000. Since 2001, the Postal Service has been effectively conducting mail covers on all American postal mail as part of the Mail Isolation Control and Tracking program.

As shocking as it is to consider, the Post Office, via its "Mail Cover" program, is one more arm of the national security state. The U.S. Postal Service routinely photographs the front and back of every envelope and package it processes, stores those images, and makes them available on demand to any federal agency that asks for them.Worse, some version of this program has been in effect, according to the information below.Here's former CIA officer and whistle-blower John Kiriakou to explain What is the Mail Cover Program? It's this Again: "Since 2001, the Postal Service has been effectively conducting mail covers."As I read this, the Postal Service is no longer waiting for requests for surveillance. Instead, it seems to be surveilling everything it receives, then storing the information in advance of requests to see it, requests which, according to Kiriakou, are almost never denied. Kiriakou writes that "in the months after [a 2015 USPS Inspector General] report [which warned about abuse of the program] was issued, there were 6,000 requests for mail cover collection. Only 10 were rejected, according to the Feb. 2019 edition of Prison Legal News (P.34-35)."Our acceptance of citizen surveillance is next of kin to our love of prosecuting "the other" — it springs from the same source. Whether that prosecution is carried out on TV (via Judge Judy, Jerry Springer, or "America's Worst Chefs") or by our prosecutors and the courts, those efforts are roundly cheered.To America's surveillance police, however, everyone in the country is "the other." Perhaps when there are consequences to that for the smug self-presumed untouchables among us, things will change.I'm not holding my breath, however. Punishing "the other" seems ingrained in our American nature, even when the other is us.

Labels: domestic spying, Gaius Publius, John Kiriakou, Mail Cover Program, post office, Thomas Neuburger