SEATTLE - The New York Times reports the Pentagon and the CIA have secretly searched the financial records of hundreds of Americans. Among them, a local former soldier who was accused of treason, jailed and then cleared in a terrorist investigation.

Today, James Yee told KOMO 4 News he fears for all Americans.

Yee, a West Point graduate, Army Captain and chaplain thought he'd seen everything the military courts could do to him. Until now.

"If the government was doing that then, who knows what they're doing now," Yee said.

Yee was the Army's Muslim Chaplain and advisor on terrorist detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba when the Army arrested him and accused him of treason. All charges against him were eventually dismissed. He received an honorable discharge.

But now he's learned that, according to a New York Times report, the military used a little-known power to examine all his financial records without a search warrant and without his knowledge.

"It gives me great concern," says Yee, "it startles me to wonder what else have they done and what else are they doing possibly."

The New York Times reported that the Pentagon and the CIA examined the banking and credit records of hundreds of Americans and others suspected of terrorism or espionage by using what's called National Security letters.

Vice President Dick Cheney defended the practice Sunday on Fox News saying, "there's nothing wrong with it," "it doesn't violate people's civil rights," and that the legal authority for the practice goes back decades.

But Yee believes it's an invasion of privacy for all Americans. "

"Everyone's rights are at stake here." Yee who has written a book, tells me he may sue the government based on everything that happened to him.

The New York Times report is the first indication that the military and CIA are using National Security letters as part of their domestic spying program. The House Intelligence Committee plans to take a close look at the practice.