We Need to Know the Truth About the NSA Spy Program

One of the most basic tenets of our freedom is justice, and at the heart of justice lies the search for truth.

Throughout history, whenever the United States government has violated the trust of the American people, we have always worked to regain that trust by seeking the truth and allowing for a full examination of the abuses of government power.

Unfortunately, the FISA legislation the Senate will soon consider falls short of that standard.

The bill would not only deny the Court the ability to finally make a determination as to the legality of the NSA program and the extent of the spying, but would effectively guarantee immunity for the telecommunications companies who violated the privacy of their customers. This provision will prevent us from finding out the truth.

We can indemnify the telecom companies, but we should not shut down the legal process.

I know that many of my colleagues in the Senate think we know enough about this program. But we do not know enough. The Bush administration trampled on the Constitution, and we are not doing anything in the bill to provide real accountability.

If we vote for this FISA legislation, we are perpetuating a cover-up.

I want to be clear -- I support giving our government every tool necessary to track down terrorists and protect our citizens. But we also have a responsibility to uphold the constitution and the rights of our citizens.

We should remember, as former Justice Thurgood Marshall said, "History teaches us that grave threats to liberty often come in times of urgency, when constitutional rights seem too extravagant to endure."

Our constitution is not an extravagance. It is not something we can hold up when it suits us, and set it aside when it hinders us. It is the centerpiece of our democracy.

I just spoke on the Senate floor about the FISA bill. You can view the speech here, and I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback.

Follow Sen. Barbara Boxer on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Barbara_Boxer

Comments

[LeftHandedBrain]

Thank you, Senator, for taking this stance! The constitution is too valuable to be tossed aside.

[RDAbrams]

Try this logic. Quest failed to go along with the administration's illegal request. By not pursuing Quest in a courtroom, the President seems to have admitted the illegality of the program and more importantly left Americans vulnerable to terrorists. Conversely the President could have gone to Congress and made his case for changing FISA. His failure to do this, yet again, left Americans more vulnerable to terrorists. And for what - the imperial presidency; that's what? This was Dick Cheney's idealogical work, I assure you.

The real crime is leaving America vulnerable for no reason. Incidentally, the administration owes Quest an apology for the punitive actions they took against them.

[tyrodin]

I just contributed $50 to Barbara Boxer's campaign. Maybe if we all show her that the people would like to buy her vote for a change instead of big business we might get results.

[oogabooga]

Boxer has turned out to be a very pleasant surprise, while Feinstein has turned out to be an unpleasant surprise. Boxer is a true defender of our Constitution as the final bulwark between regular people and the out-of-control government we now have. Please keep up the fight.

[tennesseeduo]

Senator Boxer,
As a retiree from The NSA who had first hand knowledge of the FISA program let me tell you how to get to the truth about what NSA spying program. The Senators on the Foreign Intelligence Committee should have the security clearance to be briefed on what the NSA is currently doing in the FISA arena. What you and they should do is take a trip up the road from D.C. to Fort Meade and talk with the people that are actually doing the work with the FISA collection. Don't just talk to the management, talk with the people who are actually doing the grunt work, they should be brutally honest with you about what they are doing. The FISA program was strictly mointored for abuse and still should be. Don't take the word of the management of the NSA or the Bush administration, try talking with the actual workers, you will get the truth.

[skip4Obama]

love this woman...bo­xer would be a great VP but is needed in the senate!

[haydude]

just another example under the BIG TOP -- of the dancing girl and the elephant act. in the CENTER RING
the donkey act is leaking 8 X 10 inches of the presidential candidate. what must the third act of this three
ring CIRCUS have in store for the sucker born every minute?

[twgbonehead]

I have a question. A previous version of this bill protected not only the telecoms, but ANYONE - private citizen or government official - and granted immunity to all of them. Does the current bill limit immunity to Telecoms, or (as I suspect) is the language still so general that EVERYONE involved is off the hook - including Bush's legal staff, the Attorney General's office, etc?

[Insideout143]

Can we just take citizen action to impeach all of those who support the degradation of our constitutional rights? I'm sure there are constitutionally protection minded citizens in all of their districts, states, etc, who can replace them.

[raker]

Sorry, Senator. You lost right from the gate. You validated the Bush administration's crimes by adopting their Orwellian language, calling their criminal enterprise a "program." Calling a criminal conspiracy a program makes it sound kind of ordinary, a regular function of the bureaucracy. Here's a word for you: impeach. You Democrats in Congress will be remembered in infamy for your abject cowardice in letting Bush get away with murder.

[imagine0594]

I never liked the idea of the telecommunication companies listening in on my phone conversations. There was nothing anybody could do to stop them. They spied on ordinary citizens without their permission, and most of our representatives went along with it. I am so frustrated with my government right now.

[jcorrington]

And i am way beyond frustration with our gov, more like despair.. I fear it cannot be fixed. Corp America will never give up its power grip now that it has rampant over the last decade.

I do thank you Sen Boxer, for your voice of reason...

[scooperss]

In addition to my other comment, why did it seem that when you were the minority you tried harder to appear to be working for the people? Was it all for show to get the majority and now that you have it you no longer have to *appear* anything ?

[Marlyn]

Thank you Senator Boxer. I am so pleased to have you as my Senator. Now, if you could just get my other Senator to vote with you ...

[wednesdayguevara]

Thanks for doing your job, Senator Boxer. You are one of the few who does.

[darcy]

Words, words, words...wh­en will we see some action? The terrorists are in the Whitehouse, Senator, and the Dem congress is allowing them to operate as ususal.