--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In our counterterrorism cases and our…" description: "\"In our counterterrorism cases and our counterintelligence cases, we can issue all kinds of - of layers of approval in the FBI, a national security lett..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d6/james-comey-17512_all-kinds_in-our-counterterrorism-cases-and-our-co_2084125.jpg" --- # In our counterterrorism cases and our counterintelligence… ![“In our counterterrorism cases and our counterintelligence cases, we can issue all kinds of - of layers of approval in the FBI, a national security letter to find out the subscriber to a particular telephone number and to find out what numbers that telephone number was in contact with. Not the…” quote by James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d6/james-comey-17512_all-kinds_in-our-counterterrorism-cases-and-our-co_2084125.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d6/james-comey-17512_all-kinds_in-our-counterterrorism-cases-and-our-co_2084125.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d6/james-comey-17512_all-kinds_in-our-counterterrorism-cases-and-our-co_2084125.jpg) > “In our counterterrorism cases and our counterintelligence cases, we can issue all kinds of - of layers of approval in the FBI, a national security letter to find out the subscriber to a particular telephone number and to find out what numbers that telephone number was in contact with. Not the content of those communications, but just the connection.” [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The FBI can trace telephone connections without accessing content, using layers of approval to identify contacts. **In simple terms:** FBI tracks call connections, not content, via approvals. Key Takeaway Understand limits of surveillance tools. Themes privacy security law enforcement technology Mood cautious inquisitive Type policy ethical When to use this quote - law enforcement investigations - cybersecurity audits - privacy advocacy - policy making - academic research Key Concepts surveillance legal process data analysis Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards protect against overreach? - How does this method affect civil liberties? A Different Perspective Potential for misuse if oversight is weak. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [All kinds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/all-kinds/) [Approval Fbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approval-fbi-4086357/) [Cases Counterintelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cases-counterintelligence-4086359/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Counterintelligence Cases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/counterintelligence-cases-4086361/) [Counterterrorism Cases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/counterterrorism-cases-4086360/) [Cybersecurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cybersecurity/) [Fbi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fbi/) [Fbi National](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fbi-national-4086358/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [National security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/national-security/) [Phone number](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phone-number/) [Security](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/security/) ## Related quotes > [Half of the devices that we encounter in terrorism cases, in counterintelligence cases, in gang cases, in child pornography cases, cannot be opened with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/half-of-the-devices-that-we-encounter-in-terrorism-cases-in/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [I have a permanent moustache so I can be a 'Movator:' I take random telephone numbers and ring people up and 'movate' them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charley-boorman/i-have-a-permanent-moustache-so-i-can-be-a-movator-i-take-random/) [Charley Boorman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charley-boorman/) > [“The zero in the telephone number he pronounced "naught." The number was: "2 B R 0 2 B.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut-jr/the-zero-in-the-telephone-number-he-pronounced-naught-the-number-was/) [Kurt Vonnegut Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut-jr/) > [I have an 800 freephone number now that I call if I get the urge to buy an airline stock. I call at two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/i-have-an-800-freephone-number-now-that-i-call-if-i-get-the-urge-to/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [“I'm no one important or famous, no matter. It is better to be loved by one person who knows your soul than millions who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/i-m-no-one-important-or-famous-no-matter-it-is-better-to-be-loved-by/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [After Donald Trump wrote Lindsey Graham's cellphone number on a piece of paper and showed it to everybody, Graham said he's getting a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-fallon/after-donald-trump-wrote-lindsey-graham-s-cellphone-number-on-a-piece/) [Jimmy Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-fallon/) > [I said, 'Okay, it's the year 2000, I'm getting a computer and a Palm Pilot.' I know how to check my e-mail, and I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-jacobs/i-said-okay-it-s-the-year-2000-i-m-getting-a-computer-and-a-palm/) [Marc Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-jacobs/) > [I do have a really good memory. I mean, like, I can remember all the phone numbers of everybody on the street I grew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/i-do-have-a-really-good-memory-i-mean-like-i-can-remember-all-the/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [“She had started driving past his apartment to see whether or not his car was out front. She had looked up his phone number,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-pascal/she-had-started-driving-past-his-apartment-to-see-whether-or-not-his/) [Francine Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-pascal/) > [I can't even dial one phone number right away. But you strained your own body to go and see them. I was surprised. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arina-tanemura/i-can-t-even-dial-one-phone-number-right-away-but-you-strained-your/) [Arina Tanemura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arina-tanemura/) > [“Hipster Chick personally brings it to the table, and there’s a phone number written in ketchup on his plate. He looks at her. Looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellen-burden/hipster-chick-personally-brings-it-to-the-table-and-there-s-a-phone/) [Kellen Burden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellen-burden/) > [“I am a mathematician and I can confidently say that the best figure ever produced is your phone number.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/i-am-a-mathematician-and-i-can-confidently-say-that-the-best-figure/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [I will take questions from the guys, but from the girls I want telephone numbers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silvio-berlusconi/i-will-take-questions-from-the-guys-but-from-the-girls-i-want/) [Silvio Berlusconi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silvio-berlusconi/) > [“Unfortunately, he still hadn’t asked for my number, or a date, or my hand in marriage, and my drink was getting low.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-novosel/unfortunately-he-still-hadn-t-asked-for-my-number-or-a-date-or-my/) [Kimberly Novosel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-novosel/) > [“I’m not sure how the ponies happened, though I have an inkling: “Can I get you anything?” I’ll say, getting up from a dinner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/i-m-not-sure-how-the-ponies-happened-though-i-have-an-inkling-can-i/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) ## More by James Comey > [Really bad people around the world, because of the genius of American innovation, use our products and infrastructure for their emails, for their communications.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/really-bad-people-around-the-world-because-of-the-genius-of-american/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [There are two things that matter in a criminal investigation of a subject.What did the person do, and when they did that thing, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/there-are-two-things-that-matter-in-a-criminal-investigation-of-a/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [In my view, a huge portion of WikiLeaks's activities has nothing to do with legitimate newsgathering, informing the public, commenting on important public controversies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/in-my-view-a-huge-portion-of-wikileaks-s-activities-has-nothing-to-do/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [There are those who've been hacked by the Chinese and those who don't know they've been hacked by the Chinese.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/there-are-those-who-ve-been-hacked-by-the-chinese-and-those-who-don-t/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [The lawyers doing the sorting for Secretary Clinton in 2014 did not individually read the content of all of her e-mails, as we did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/the-lawyers-doing-the-sorting-for-secretary-clinton-in-2014-did-not/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [The FBI also discovered several thousand work-related e-mails that were not in the group of 30,000 that were returned by Secretary Clinton to State…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/the-fbi-also-discovered-several-thousand-work-related-e-mails-that/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [WikiLeaks is a important focus of our attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/wikileaks-is-a-important-focus-of-our-attention/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [We did not find direct evidence that Secretary Clinton’s personal e-mail domain, in its various configurations since 2009, was successfully hacked. But, given the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/we-did-not-find-direct-evidence-that-secretary-clinton-s-personal-e/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [It is a little bit difficult to talk about things that do involve classified matters in public. But I think the public needs to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/it-is-a-little-bit-difficult-to-talk-about-things-that-do-involve/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [The more able we are to keep guns out the hand so criminals and spouse abusers all - the better. So the more information…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/the-more-able-we-are-to-keep-guns-out-the-hand-so-criminals-and/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [Secretary Hillary Clinton used several different servers and administrators of those servers during her four years at the State Department. She also used numerous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/secretary-hillary-clinton-used-several-different-servers-and/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [What we want to work with manufacturers on is to figure out how can we accommodate both interests in a sensible way? How can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/what-we-want-to-work-with-manufacturers-on-is-to-figure-out-how-can/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [I believe that Americans should be deeply skeptical of government power. You cannot trust people in power. The founders knew that. That's why they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/i-believe-that-americans-should-be-deeply-skeptical-of-government/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [In their minds, the murderers and accomplices of Germany, and Poland, and Hungary, and so many, many other places didn't do something evil. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/in-their-minds-the-murderers-and-accomplices-of-germany-and-poland/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [What we do is we combine information collected from any lawful source in a single FBI database so we don't miss a dot when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/what-we-do-is-we-combine-information-collected-from-any-lawful-source/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) [Explore all 37 James Comey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) ## More All kinds quotes > [I was interested in all kinds of things, whether it be Avatar, Mad Men, Troy, 300, Battlestar Gallactica, or the poems of Horace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/i-was-interested-in-all-kinds-of-things-whether-it-be-avatar-mad-men/) [Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/) > [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [I'm not technically proficient enough to attempt all kinds of music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-gallagher/i-m-not-technically-proficient-enough-to-attempt-all-kinds-of-music/) [Noel Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-gallagher/) > [My office in New York is overflowing with all kinds of cookbooks, and in New Orleans we have a huge culinary library. So yeah,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emeril-lagasse/my-office-in-new-york-is-overflowing-with-all-kinds-of-cookbooks-and/) [Emeril Lagasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emeril-lagasse/) > [Sydney is full of the craziest and most talented artists of all kinds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keiynan-lonsdale/sydney-is-full-of-the-craziest-and-most-talented-artists-of-all-kinds/) [Keiynan Lonsdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keiynan-lonsdale/) > [Baseball needs to put the steroids era behind it by having and enforcing tough rules against all kinds of artificial advantages, so that spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-olasky/baseball-needs-to-put-the-steroids-era-behind-it-by-having-and/) [Marvin Olasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-olasky/) > [You know, the world’s not running out of oil. There’s all kinds of oil left in all kinds of places. …We’re never going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-rubin/you-know-the-world-s-not-running-out-of-oil-there-s-all-kinds-of-oil/) [Jeff Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-rubin/) > [I grew up with all kinds of people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vin-diesel/i-grew-up-with-all-kinds-of-people/) [Vin Diesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vin-diesel/) > [Because there were all kinds of hell - some were black and dirty, and some were silvery and high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/because-there-were-all-kinds-of-hell-some-were-black-and-dirty-and/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [The architecture of the song, if it's built properly, can withstand all kinds of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-haines/the-architecture-of-the-song-if-it-s-built-properly-can-withstand-all/) [Emily Haines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-haines/) > [There are all kinds of writers. The best writers write children's books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-scarry/there-are-all-kinds-of-writers-the-best-writers-write-children-s-books/) [Richard Scarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-scarry/) > [We also need to make sure women can be in charge of their reproductive health. We can't defund places like Planned Parenthood, where women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrissy-teigen/we-also-need-to-make-sure-women-can-be-in-charge-of-their/) [Chrissy Teigen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrissy-teigen/) > [The single greatest pleasure that I have in doing ('Bizarre Foods') is when I meet families with 6, 7, 8-year-olds, or teenagers, who say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-zimmern/the-single-greatest-pleasure-that-i-have-in-doing-bizarre-foods-is/) [Andrew Zimmern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-zimmern/) > [I can see that I imagine all kinds of rejection that never happens. I can see that I beg and plead for love that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-can-see-that-i-imagine-all-kinds-of-rejection-that-never-happens-i/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [Do you know people who insist they like 'all kinds of music'? That actually means they like no kinds of music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/do-you-know-people-who-insist-they-like-all-kinds-of-music-that/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) [Browse all 1,489 All kinds quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/all-kinds/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In our counterterrorism cases and our counterintelligence cases, we can issue all kinds of - of layers of approval in the FBI, a national security letter to find out the subscriber to a particular telephone number and to find out what numbers that telephone number was in contact with. 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