Senate Insider Speaks Out: Ex-Wyden Staffer on Secret Laws, Domestic Spying and Obama’s NSA Reforms

[Catherina]

Senate Insider Speaks Out: Ex-Wyden Staffer on Secret Laws, Domestic Spying and Obama’s NSA Reforms

Published on Aug 12, 2013

http://www.democracynow.org - As President Obama proposed a series of changes to reform the government's surveillance policies and programs, we speak to Jennifer Hoelzer, the former deputy chief of staff for Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, a longtime critic of the Obama administration for using a secret interpretation of the USA PATRIOT Act to allow the NSA to conduct domestic surveillance. "Unfortunately Edward Snowden was the only means by which we have been able to have this debate," Hoelzer says. "We, working for Senator Wyden, did everything to try to encourage the administration to bring these facts to light. We're not talking about sources and methods, we're not talking about sensitive materials, we're talking about what they believed the law allows them to do." Meanwhile, The Guardian newspaper has revealed the National Security Agency has a secret backdoor into its vast databases to search for email and phone calls of U.S. citizens without a warrant. According to documents leaked by Edward Snowden, NSA operatives can hunt for individual Americans' communications using their name or other identifying information.

Transcript will be posted here later today: http://www.democracynow.org/2013/8/12/senate_insider_speaks_out_ex_wyden

[tazkcmo]

1. But Snowden's a traitor

So anything he says is a lie and the President is a Constitutional scholar and a really nice guy (with a beautiful family too!) so it's all good. Besides, it's legal because they said so. So what's all the fuss about?

[wildbilln864]

3. Thank you Mrs. Hoelzer! Ad k & r. n/t

[Douglas Carpenter]

4. one of the most valuable videos I have scene on the subject