Senator Leahy Slams NSA Surveillance, Aims For Changes To FISA Court And NSA's Powers

from the about-time dept

Tue, Sep 24th 2013 3:10pm — Mike Masnick

There have been a number of proposals put forth in response to the Ed Snowden leaks, but many don't have very much support. However, having Senate Judiciary Committee boss Patrick Leahy pushing strongly for reforms is likely to get some attention. At just about the same time that Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was slamming NSA surveillance to President Obama's face at the UN, Leahy was giving a speech slamming the NSA's practices, as well as the limp oversight of the FISA Court.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, the powerful chairman of the chamber’s Judiciary Committee, on Tuesday strongly endorsed a series of sweeping restrictions on U.S. surveillance programs — from ending the bulk collection of Americans’ phone call logs to creating new oversight mechanisms to keep the NSA in check.

In a speech at Georgetown University Law Center, Leahy (D-Vt.) said the government “has not made its case” that the ability to collect Americans’ phone records en masse under the PATRIOT Act is “an effective counterterrorism tool, especially in light of the intrusion on Americans’ privacy rights.”

While he reiterated his support for a bill that was introduced a few months ago that restricts Section 230, his renewed focus on the FISA Court may be the more interesting tidbit:

Leahy also called for a “hard look at the existing oversight structure and what we are asking of the judges appointed to the FISA Court.” Those judges, he explained, have taken on a “regulatory role not envisioned in the original version” of the law. And the court, he said, hamstrung by the NSA’s misunderstanding of its own programs or the agency’s misleading statements, hasn’t always been able to conduct meaningful oversight.

Leahy rejected the idea that the FISA Court is an “unthinking rubber stamp,” but he did raise the possibility that Congress will rethink the court’s responsibilities and structure

This is a key point in all of this that is often missed in the debates. The FISA court was supposed to just look at warrant requests from law enforcement to make sure they make sense. But it's changed into a body that is actually making law, by figuring out how to interpret various statutes, often in secrecy, without any opposing viewpoints presented. That's not what it was designed to do, and it's part of how we ended up in the situation we're in today.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: fisa court, fisc, nsa, nsa surveillance, patrick leahy

18 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Anonymous Coward, 24 Sep 2013 @ 3:19pm

I'm torn. On the one hand, Leahy is making good points and pushing for reform where we really need it.

On the other hand, he is completely the MPAA's lapdog and an embarrassment of a Senator who trades bad laws for Batman cameos.

Sigh.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 24 Sep 2013 @ 3:24pm

Comments !!!
Why does no one ever comment on TD anymore !!!

Why has the web site become so boring ???
Why does no one bother clicking on articles anymore.

Why does no one want to listen to Masnick anymore ???

How long will it be until TD closes down ??
[ link to this | view in thread ]
That One Guy (profile), 24 Sep 2013 @ 3:29pm

Re:
You can agree with a person's stance on a given subject, while still thinking they're idiots(or worse) in general.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 24 Sep 2013 @ 3:35pm

Re: Re:
Well, yeah, absolutely. That's not in question (and I'm wondering where you got the idea that it was?). I just wish someone was spearheading this who wasn't quite so openly corrupt. I don't like having Leahy as the face of anti-NSA rhetoric because it would be really easy for critics to dismiss him due to his other actions as Senator.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 24 Sep 2013 @ 3:38pm

Re: Re: Re:
You can feel better knowing that Leahy isn't so much "spearheading" this, and lending weight to it.

For the most part, Wyden and Udall have been spearheading this effort for years - it's just that nobody else would jump on board until they saw/heard how bad it really was.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
John Fenderson (profile), 24 Sep 2013 @ 3:40pm

Re: Re:
Yep. It the exceptionally rare person who is right 100% of the time or wrong 100% of the time.

It's even more rare to find someone that you agree with about everything or that you disagree with about everything.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 24 Sep 2013 @ 3:48pm

Mr. Leahy is going out on a limb here. I bet a certain someone is thinking Mr. Leahy has forgotten the message contained in that letter he received back in 2001 with all the white powder in it. I bet that certain someone is planning a stronger message this time. I bet that certain someone is just the type who thinks he can break all the rules he wants if he thinks it will protect America. I just wish I knew who the fuck that certain someone is because he deserves a one-way ticket to hell!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 24 Sep 2013 @ 3:53pm

Re: Re: Re:
It can't be THAT rare, after all *I'M* right 100% of the time. ;)
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 24 Sep 2013 @ 3:54pm

What authority was it given?
Was FISA given authority to "just look at warrant requests" or was it also given authority to "interpret various statutes"? If the former, then all of its other decisions should be thrown out and various judges punished for exceeding their authority. If the latter, then it was only doing it's job.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 24 Sep 2013 @ 4:51pm

Hopefully his oversight mechanisms are better than the insider review group Obama setup. Headed by an alleged felonious liar.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Loki, 24 Sep 2013 @ 4:57pm

Re:
Sure, he's making points, but that's politics. I've watched for decades as these guys have rattled their sabres but far more often then not when it's time to put word to actions, suddenly it's a different matter and somehow the votes and follow through are never quite there.

Until I see some legislation actually get passed that make some real and substantial change, it's all just posturing for the masses to try to keep their jobs.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Mike Masnick (profile), 24 Sep 2013 @ 4:59pm

I'm torn. On the one hand, Leahy is making good points and pushing for reform where we really need it.

On the other hand, he is completely the MPAA's lapdog and an embarrassment of a Senator who trades bad laws for Batman cameos.

Leahy has always been good on privacy (and not bad on patents either).
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 24 Sep 2013 @ 5:20pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
your still not right as 100% if the time as I am lol
[ link to this | view in thread ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

leepermax, 24 Sep 2013 @ 5:41pm

Re:
Good update on NSA surveillance.

"BREAKING N.S.A. REVELATIONS" ... http://newslinx.net/
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 24 Sep 2013 @ 6:39pm

Meanwhile, Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has been put into an isolation cell.

That's what you get for criticizing Putin for his election rigging. Putin, the man whose rose from the USSR Spying agency, the KGB to take power.

It's funny, you think you have a democracy, but then weird decisions start getting made, and email leaks drive out party leaders, and secret treaties, and the press under DA notices, reporters in jail on trumped up charges, Government defines 'press' to 'approved reporters'.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
FM HIlton, 25 Sep 2013 @ 3:41am

Power is as power does
Leahy is definitely one of the most powerful people in the Congress, and I'd be hard-pressed to find one that can surpass him in getting some things done.

I think he's serious, and when the head of the Senate Intelligence committee gets serious, I'd say it's time that the NSA and the FISA court people start listening to him.

Because he can make their lives completely miserable, if he chooses to.

I only hope he can, and will, to the fullest extent of his power.

Someone has to.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
FM HIlton, 25 Sep 2013 @ 3:44am

My coffee's not strong enough
This is why one should never post first thing in the morning:

I meant to write "head of the Judiciary Committee" instead of Senate Intelligence committee in my post.

Although that guy would be nice to have on board, too. Perhaps they can have a meeting, yes?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Gary (profile), 25 Sep 2013 @ 5:17pm

Re:
Seems to me that you can support him for the one stance and condemn him for the other. I mean is not such a stretch to hold both thoughts. I do it all the time with politics. You can't agree with these people in every case. I just take what I can get and try to change what I disagree with.
[ link to this | view in thread ]