Patriot Act Author Jim Sensenbrenner "Disturbed" by NSA's Collection of Verizon Phone Records

Talk Radio News Service

Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) introduced the Patriot Act in October of 2001. Today, he sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder saying that initial reports about the National Security Administration's request for Verizon phone records are "disturbing," and "not consistent with the requirements of the Patriot Act."

Take a minute to let that sink in.

"As the author of the Patriot Act, I am extremely troubled by the FBI's interpretation of this legislation. While I believe the Patriot Act appropriately balanced national security concerns and civil rights, I have always worried about potential abuses," Sensenbrenner said in a statement released in conjunction with the release of his letter to Holder.

"The Bureau's broad application for phone records was made under the so-called business records provision of the Act.  I do not believe the broadly drafted FISA order is consistent with the requirements of the Patriot Act. Seizing phone records of millions of innocent people is excessive and un-American."

You can read his letter to Holder below. But first, here's a reminder–courtesy of Matt Taibbi–of how Sensenbrenner has behaved in the past when his colleagues in the House tried to hold hearings examining the Patriot Act:

Last year, Sensenbrenner became apoplectic when Democrats who wanted to hold a hearing on the Patriot Act invoked a little-known rule that required him to let them have one.

"Naturally, he scheduled it for something like 9 a.m. on a Friday when Congress wasn't in session, hoping that no one would show," recalls a Democratic staffer who attended the hearing. "But we got a pretty good turnout anyway."

Sensenbrenner kept trying to gavel the hearing to a close, but Democrats again pointed to the rules, which said they had a certain amount of time to examine their witnesses. When they refused to stop the proceedings, the chairman did something unprecedented: He simply picked up his gavel and walked out…

Sensenbrenner Letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, RE NSA and Verizon

Comments

[Live Free or Diet]

“As the author of the Patriot Act, I am extremely troubled by the FBI’s interpretation of this legislation.”

Predictable result do not qualify as unintended consequences.

[Tonio]

^This.

Craven ass-covering.

[James Anderson Merritt]

People were crying out about such possibilities from the very beginning. This kind of thing ALWAYS happens! The answer, now as then, is to have no PATRIOT Act. Let’s repeal it, and while we are at it, let’s repeal the AUMF, too. The world is going to be dangerous, no matter what we do. The only differences will be whether we face our dangers with or without freedom, and whether we conduct ourselves as a nation in such a way as to increase or decrease our level of danger. As for me, I choose liberty at home and non-interventionism in foreign policy.

[Sevo]

“As the author of the Patriot Act, I am extremely troubled by the FBI’s interpretation of this legislation”

Never saw it coming did he? Figured that all the nice people in government would never do this sort of stuff!
Idiot…

[John]

The FBI proved all of the civil libertarians right. The sold this change in the law as a way to listen in on foreign calls that happen to be routed through the US and then immediately turned around and used it to collect information on domestic calls.

The FBI should be disbanded over this.

[Pro Libertate]

I’m not gonna take this. The IRS, it’s a dead agency! FBI, dead! Education. . .

Dead! Bluto’s right. Psychotic. . .but absolutely right. We gotta take these bastards. Now we could do it with conventional weapons, but that could take years and cost millions of lives. No, I think we have to go all out. I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody’s part!

[John]

And we’re just the guys to do it.

[Brett L]

Road Trip!

[Sevo]

John| 6.6.13 @ 4:25PM |#
“The FBI proved all of the civil libertarians right.”

And Di Fi (and the rest) say: “So what?”

[Irish]

Maybe you shouldn’t have written it then, asshole.

[John]

But the FBI told him they would never do this.

[Pro Libertate]

You know what would be great? Bush to come out of hiding and to say, “I thought I was bad.”

[ant1sthenes]

Not enough. Dick Cheney needs to pop out and give an enthusiastic public endorsement of Obama.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Who knew public sentiment would change?

[Tonio]

Fisty, FTW!

[Aresen]

I wish he would shut up.

This just gives the Hufflepuffle Post commentariat grounds for claiming that Rand Paul’s position is political posturing.

In Sensenbrenner’s case, it IS political posturing.

[Joe M]

Exactly, and the leftists are totally pushing that angle on Paul. It’s all political calculation. There’s no such thing as principles.

[John]

As if doing the right thing for the wrong reason somehow makes it less right. Lefties are incapable of anything but ad homonym.

[Joe M]

Well, no, they don’t even think he’s doing the right thing, if it comes to that. Because of course, Bush did it too, therefore you can’t go after the Obama Administration about it, or you’re a hypocrite. Even if you have been fighting the Patriot Act since day one and weren’t in office when Bush was president.

[Joe M]

Sensenbrenner, either draw up some legislation repealing the Patriot Act, or shut it.

[mad libertarian guy]

As the author of the Patriot Act, I am extremely troubled by the FBI’s interpretation of this legislation. While I believe the Patriot Act appropriately balanced national security concerns and civil rights, I have always worried about potential abuses,

Bullfuckingshit.

[John]

I have always worried that potential abuses might cause the public to want to hold my dumb ass responsible for something.

[Raston Bot]

STFU you cumstain.

[WomSom]

The Feds are idiots, plain and simple lol.

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