Open Email To Rep. Michael T. McCaul (TX), Chairman of the House Committee
on Homeland Security:
Dear Rep.
McCaul, The
Washington Times has an article concerning the National Securities Agency's
(NSA) collection of telephone data on US citizens. The Times says that the
debate on the legitimacy of such collection has been driven
not by the Administration but by figures
such as National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden.
You are quoted in the Times article, but the wording is a bit confusing. Some could interpret it that you are FOR these programs, which are lawful, which have saved lives, and which have stopped terrorist plots. I doubt that such as your position, and I will go on to explain mine.
The NSA program of telephone data collection on private citizens is unlawful. It is contrary to the Fourth Amendment.
I doubt that collection of telephone data on innocent civilians has saved many lives. If this is incorrect, I would like NSA to explain how lives were saved.
I also doubt that terrorist plots were stopped by collection of the telephone data as described by NSA. NSA has said they only collected telephone numbers of calls that had been made and the times that such calls were made. There were no connections between individuals and their respective telephone numbers, and it is inconceivable to me how any terrorists could be identified based only on an abstract number.
I am all for the collection of any data which helps to identify a potential terrorist, but it should not be obtained by screening telephone records connected with private individuals. Such process is a clear infraction of Fourth Amendment rights. Seizing a specific person's telephone records must be based upon some suspicion of illegality and defined in a warrant signed by a federal judge to seize the records of that particular person. There is a federal secret court associated with NSA. That court should be abolished, because it is obviously a dupe of the NSA..
I agree with Pres. Obama that the Patriot act, which set up the National Security Agency should be reviewed, and if necessary, changed to get it in conformity with the Fourth Amendment.
You are quoted in the Times article, but the wording is a bit confusing. Some could interpret it that you are FOR these programs, which are lawful, which have saved lives, and which have stopped terrorist plots. I doubt that such as your position, and I will go on to explain mine.
The NSA program of telephone data collection on private citizens is unlawful. It is contrary to the Fourth Amendment.
I doubt that collection of telephone data on innocent civilians has saved many lives. If this is incorrect, I would like NSA to explain how lives were saved.
I also doubt that terrorist plots were stopped by collection of the telephone data as described by NSA. NSA has said they only collected telephone numbers of calls that had been made and the times that such calls were made. There were no connections between individuals and their respective telephone numbers, and it is inconceivable to me how any terrorists could be identified based only on an abstract number.
I am all for the collection of any data which helps to identify a potential terrorist, but it should not be obtained by screening telephone records connected with private individuals. Such process is a clear infraction of Fourth Amendment rights. Seizing a specific person's telephone records must be based upon some suspicion of illegality and defined in a warrant signed by a federal judge to seize the records of that particular person. There is a federal secret court associated with NSA. That court should be abolished, because it is obviously a dupe of the NSA..
I agree with Pres. Obama that the Patriot act, which set up the National Security Agency should be reviewed, and if necessary, changed to get it in conformity with the Fourth Amendment.
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