Turns out the person you called is a suspect in a crime.
No warrant needed, bonus points if you're a relative.
A clandestine government surveillance program has been tracking more than one trillion domestic phone records of ordinary, law-abiding citizens across the United States for over a decade, according to a letter sent by Democratic Senator from Oregon Ron Wyden to the Department of Justice (DOJ).The letter, obtained by WIRED, suggests that the Data Analytical Services (DAS) program has enabled federal, state, and local law enforcement to sieve through countless phone records and information without suspicion of criminality or wrongdoing.
The program, which cooperates with AT&T, utilizes “chain analysis,” which allows agencies or law enforcement to look into anyone who may have been in contact with a criminal suspect. Law enforcement may request any data or call records of anyone related to the suspect – regardless of how distant – so long as they use AT&T.