Franken to introduce NSA transparency bill

[bigtree]

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) lashed out this morning at “the lack of transparency” surrounding the collection of Americans’ phone records. Speaking at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Franken blasted top intelligence officials for delays in declassifying secret government documents authorizing the program.

“I don’t want transparency only when it’s convenient to the government,” Franken said. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, he added, “has known for weeks that this hearing was coming and ODNI released this only in the minutes before this hearing began. That doesn’t engender trust.”

Franken vowed to introduce new legislation that would force the Obama administration to reveal more about the NSA’s controversial bulk surveillance programs.

The documents in question include two reports to Congress, one from 2009 and another from 2011, defending the program to lawmakers. They also include a copy of the court order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court granting law enforcement the permission to collect U.S. phone records.


read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/07/31/franken-to-introduce-nsa-transparency-bill/?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost

related:

The Caucus ?@thecaucus 16m
Full texts of unclassified N.S.A. documents on data collection http://nyti.ms/18RQTJ0

[think]

1. k&R

[progressoid]

2. Good. But it will go no where.

The M.I.C. won't let it happen.