So you think that FISA Courts protect you.....

[marions ghost]

If there was nothing wrong with secret FISA courts why

would these senators be saying this now:

A bipartisan group of eight senators introduced new legislation Tuesday that would require the Attorney General to reveal how the administration interprets the laws governing the massive surveillance programs conducted by the NSA. It would require the declassification of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court's opinions, a press release from Sen. Jeff Merkley states, "allowing Americans to know how broad of a legal authority the government is claiming to spy on Americans under the PATRIOT Act and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act."

“Americans deserve to know how much information about their private communications the government believes it’s allowed to take under the law,” Merkley said. “There is plenty of room to have this debate without compromising our surveillance sources or methods or tipping our hand to our enemies. We can’t have a serious debate about how much surveillance of Americans’ communications should be permitted without ending secret law.”

He's joined by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), who along with Sen. Mark Udall (C-CO), has been trying for two years to have these secret interpretations aired. Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Dean Heller (R-NV), Mark Begich (D-AK), Al Franken (D-MN) and Jon Tester (D-MT) have signed on.

This effort might actually help in the long stymied efforts to get these decisions declassified. The Electronic Frontiers Foundation has been involved in a byzantine effort under the Freedom of Information Act to see one particular opinion and has been ping-ponged between a district court, the FISC and the Justice Department, as all three play hot potato with the request. The ACLU has also just sued the government to compel the declassification of its interpretation of section 215, the so-called "business records" provision of the Patriot Act. A key, though perhaps reluctant ally for this effort is the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/06/11/1215364/-Bipartisan-group-of-senators-introduce-bill-to-declassify-FISA-court-opinions#

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Senator Al Franken (D-MN) issued the following statement in response to reports of the National Security Agency’s collection of phone data:

“There’s a balance to strike between protecting Americans’ privacy and protecting our country’s national security. I don’t think we’ve struck that balance. I’m concerned about the lack of transparency of these programs. The American public can’t be kept in the dark about the basic architecture of the programs designed to protect them.

“We need to revisit how we address that balance. I agree with Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) that the relevant significant FISA Court opinions should be made public to the degree possible, consistent with protecting national security.”

Franken isn’t playing the head in the sand game that Speaker Boehner tried Thursday morning, and he’s not going to feign innocence and outrage like Senator Rand Paul. Nor is he going to sit back and play corporate Democrat. This is how you push for liberal transparency without sounding like you don’t care about national security.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/06/08/1214534/-MN-Sen-Al-Franken-D-FISA-Court-opinions-should-be-made-public#

[nilram]

1. k&r