Judiciary Democrats Express Alarm over Wiretapping Abuse, Plan Additional Oversight

Responding to media reports disclosed today, Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), along with representatives Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Bobby Scott (D-Va.), chairs of the subcommittees on Constitution and Crime respectively, issued the following statement:

We are alarmed to learn, once again, of serious allegations of misconduct concerning the federal government’s warrantless surveillance programs.  Today’s New York Times identified three separate allegations of possible misconduct: first, that the NSA improperly intercepted the phone calls and emails of American citizens in the U.S. under the new legal authority granted by Congress last year; second, that the NSA sought to intercept communications involving a member of Congress on an overseas trip without a warrant; and third, that Americans may have been improperly targeted for eavesdropping operations based on insufficient evidence.

Judiciary Committee staff has been briefed on the first of these matters and we expect a full and prompt briefing of our members on the same matters. We also look forward to receiving the full DOJ inspector general report on the warrantless surveillance program as soon as possible.  While we appreciate that the processes set forth in last year’s FISA Improvements Act permit these potential abuses to be identified and disclosed, the program’s potential impingement of the rights of U.S. citizens remains a concern. We commend the Obama administration for acting promptly, and hope we can work together to redouble efforts to protect these rights.