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NEWS AND VIEWS THAT IMPACT LIMITED CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT

"There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with
power to endanger the public liberty." - - - - John Adams

Friday, July 5, 2013

Congressmen ask that secret surveillance court opinions be made public


“Our masters have not heard the people's voice for generations and it is much,
much louder than they care to remember.” 
V for Vendetta


“Secret law is anathema to a free country.”
16 Congressman demand answers.
The rest of Congress tells the public to go fuck themselves.



Police State  -  16 Congressmen out of 535 in both houses of Congress have demanded answers about the secret FISA Court and its secret rulings. 

Say that again - - - only 16 Congressmen stood tall.  That number tells you how fucked you really are.

A bipartisan group of 16 congressmen, including Reps. Justin Amash, R-Mich., Mark Sanford, R-S.C., and Rush Holt, D-N.J., have filed an amicus brief with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court requesting the secret court release its secret opinions granting the collection of American phone records.

We are watching you.
“Secret law is anathema to a free country,” Amash said. “Congress cannot effectively legislate until it knows what the law is. The American public cannot engage in a meaningful debate about liberty and surveillance until it knows what its government is doing.”

The FISA court is behind the interpretations to Section 215 of the Patriot Act that led to the mass collection of records on the American people. Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden first brought to light the issue, exposing the National Security Agency and its spying scheme reports the Washington Examiner.

The amicus brief requests the Attorney General release “significant” opinions to the public, which is currently not the case under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

Rep. Paul Broun, R-Ga., who also signed onto the amicus brief, said, “It is absolutely critical that Congress and all Americans know how the government is interpreting the law — especially when there are so many troubling signs of abuse.”

Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., added, "The right to privacy in this country is non-negotiable. While I believe that national security is essential, we must protect our most basic civil liberties and move forward in a way that does not sacrifice our American values and freedoms. We must ensure that we keep a better balance between our privacy and our national security by re-establishing and strengthening Congress' vital role of accountability and oversight of this issue."


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