Intelligence committee withheld key file before critical NSA vote, Amash claims
A leader of the US congressional insurrection against the National Security Agency's bulk surveillance programs has accused his colleagues of withholding a key document from the House of Representatives before a critical surveillance vote.
Justin Amash, the Michigan Republican whose effort to defund the NSA's mass phone-records collection exposed deep congressional discomfort with domestic spying, said the House intelligence committee never allowed legislators outside the panel to see a 2011 document that described the surveillance in vague terms.
The document, a classified summary of the bulk phone records collection effort justified under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, was declassified by the Obama administration in late July.
There have been general accusations back and forth as to whether members of congress have been adequately informed about NSA surveillance activities. This one is clear and specific. The document that was declassified claimed to be providing information to support the vote for the renewal of the Patriot Act. I read through it. It certainly was short on detail. If even that was withheld from congress then that is clearly irresponsible manipulation.
As I have attempted to look beyond the headlines and try to find out what is the legal basis for the NSA data collection, it has become clear that the Patriot Act is where things went off the rails. It has provided a vague legal cover for both the Bush and Obama administrations to push the ever expanding net of the surveillance state. It is time to say enough!