U.S. Representative Massie Seeks Answers on NSA Secret Phone Record Seizures
"I campaigned against the Patriot Act for this precise reason"
Congressman Massie and 22 other Members of Congress signed a letter asking the FBI and the NSA to clarify their position on the Patriot Act. Reportedly, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) ordered Verizon to release telephone records of its customers to the National Security Agency (NSA).
“I campaigned against the Patriot Act for this precise reason. It appears that the FBI and the NSA are exploiting the Patriot Act to authorize a dramatic and unconstitutional expansion of domestic surveillance,” said Rep. Massie. "I recently voted against the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act because it will authorize even more surveillance of innocent citizens. This latest revelation should serve as a wake-up call to Americans that Congress has passed, and continues to pass, dangerous and unconstitutional legislation without regard for our Constitution."
Under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, the FBI can seek personal communication records without probable cause. According to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) order, the government used Section 215 to seize the records of calls made on Verizon and subsidiary networks since April – potentially gathering information from tens of millions of Americans.
The letter was composed by Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI). The letter can be viewed here.
