Senator Grassley

Contacts and Replies


8-05-2015

Thank you for your letter of July 30, 2015. However my main point is that covering up the funding of a crime is a crime in itself. GW Bush is a fellow republican. But harboring the money men behind mass murder is a felony. As Chairman of the Judiciary Committee will you join with Senator Rand Paul in releasing the 28 pages to the American people, especially the families of the victims? www.28pages.org


7-30-2015

135 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-1501
(202) 224-3744
www.grassley.senate.gov

721 Federal Building
210 Walnut Street
Des Moines, IA 50309-2106
(515) 288-1145

111 7th Avenue, SE, Box 13
Suite 6800
Cedar Rapids, IA 52401-2101
(319) 363-6832


CHARLES E. GRASSLEY
WASHINGTON, DC 20510-1501

120 Federal Building
320 6th Street
Sioux City, IA 51101-1244
(712) 233-1860

210 Waterloo Building
531 Commercial Street
Waterloo, IA 50701-5497
(319) 232-6657

201 West 2nd Street
Suite 720
Davenport, IA 52801-1817
(563) 322-4331

307 Federal Building
8 South 6th Street
Council Bluffs, IA 51501-4204
(712) 322-7103

Dear Dr. Shaddock:
 
Thank you for taking the time to contact me about your support for the releasing the redacted twenty-eight pages of the report of the Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities before and after the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001 (the "Joint Inquiry"). I appreciate hearing from concerned Iowans.
 
The final report of the Joint Inquiry was released to the public in 2002. It outlined deficiencies in the United States’ intelligence community that helped lead to 9/11 and issued recommendations to fix these problems. This document is separate from the Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, or the 9/11 Report, which was produced by a separate panel of experts drawn from outside Congress.
 
Twenty-eight pages of the Joint Inquiry's report were redacted as classified, at least purportedly due to the damage that would be done to the national security if they were released. On the one hand, I am committed to providing transparency and oversight of our federal government. But on the other hand, I am also committed to protecting the integrity of our national security. Indeed, I strive to maintain the delicate balance between a transparent government and a secure nation.
 
You may be aware that a resolution introduced in the House, H. Res. 428, urges the President to release the redacted portions of the Joint Inquiry's report. Your thoughts about this issue will help me as I continue to fight for transparency in government, and especially if members of the Senate have the opportunity to vote on a similar resolution or legislation.
 
Again, thank you for taking the time to contact me about this issue. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future with any questions or comments you may have.
 
Sincerely,
Chuck


 
COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS
CHAIRMAN,
JUDICIARY

 
AGRICULTURE
BUDGET
FINANCE
CO-CHAIRMAN,
INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS
CONTROL CAUCUS

 


Former Senator Bob Graham was Chair of the Intelligence committee and found that the Saudi Arabian government financed the 9/11 "hijackers" - and the FBI covered it up. This is beyond outrageous. 15 of the 19 were from Saudi Arabia. So why did we invade Afghanistan and Iraq? This situation is beyond outrageous. There should be a Senate inquiry committee, and action similar to the House Resolution #14 to release the 28 page chapter that Bush classified, about the funding of 9/11. Please start this action, as part of the Judiciary Committee. We went to war with the wrong countries. We can't trust the FBI to tell us the truth. President Bush is covering up for his friends. We need justice.

Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/14/world/middleeast/florida-ex-senator-pursues-claims-of-saudi-ties-to-sept-11-attacks.html  (New York Times Carl Hulse)
http://nypost.com/2015/04/12/saudi-role-in-911-being-whitewashed-by-fbi/  (NY Post Paul Sperry)
http://video.foxnews.com/v/4170984577001/bob-graham-fbi-covering-up-saudi-govt-connection-to-911  (Fox News: Shepard Smith)


6-8-2015

Please join Senators Rand Paul, Ron Wyden, and Kirsten Gillibrand on Senate Bill 1471 to release the 28 page chapter that George Bush classified about who helped fund 9/11. President Obama has continued this cover up of the worst crime of the century.

If any citizen covered up who funded a crime, he would be charged with obstruction of justice. Hiding their funding is aiding and abetting the terrorists. He might even go to Guantanamo Bay for interrogation. President Obama is not above the law.

A lie of omission is still a lie.

The first duty of every government officer is to tell the truth to the people, and to set an example for following the law. The families of victims of 9/11, including brave firemen, deserve the truth.

For national security, we need to know who funded 9/11, and perhaps other attacks. The 28 page chapter should be released now.


 


 

Dear Mr. Shaddock:

Thank you for contacting me with your concerns about the National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance programs that have been in the news recently and your thoughts about proposed legislation. Reports about these programs over the last few years had raised serious concerns about whether they were being carried out as Congress intended, and whether the correct balance was being struck between protecting our national security and maintaining the privacy rights of U.S. citizens.

These programs relate to two different statutes. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) allows the government to target and intercept communications, such as telephone calls or email, of foreign persons located outside the United States for foreign intelligence or counterterrorism purposes. Under the law, the government is not allowed to intentionally target a U.S. citizen, any other U.S. person, or any person known to be in the United States, for surveillance. The government is also forbidden from targeting a person outside the United States if its purpose is to gain information about a person inside the United States. If any communication relating to a U.S. person is inadvertently acquired, it must be destroyed if the communication is not relevant to the current authorized purpose or is not evidence of a crime. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA Court) must approve the government’s procedures to ensure protection of privacy and civil liberties.

Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act allows the government to obtain business records when they are relevant to a national security investigation. NSA was using this provision to collect the telephone metadata – that is, information about telephone numbers calling and being called, and the date, time and length of calls – of many Americans in bulk, and placing them in a secure database. This activity was authorized pursuant to a FISA Court order. Under this authority, the government did not collect the content of the calls, any location information, or the identity of the individuals calling or being called. Pursuant to a FISA Court order, in order for the government to search the database, it must have had a reasonable and articulable suspicion that a specific phone number is associated with certain foreign terrorist organizations. As noted above, this information was stored in a secure database and could only be accessed by a limited number of authorized personnel with appropriate clearance and training. Every search of the database and the basis for the search was recorded and regularly reviewed by the Department of Justice. Again, the FISA Court also approved the government’s procedures to ensure protection of privacy and civil liberties.

In light of the public discussion of these programs, and the confusing explanations offered by the President and his staff, I raised concerns with the Obama Administration back in 2013 about whether it was following the law as intended when carrying out these programs. Moreover, the Judiciary Committee subsequently held hearings concerning these programs during which it received the testimony of government officials and outside experts, including the President’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies and the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB).

One thing that is clear is that on various occasions in the past, NSA personnel made serious mistakes in implementing these authorities, many of which the FISA Court subsequently corrected. Therefore, on September 23, 2013, I, along with a bipartisan group of Senate Judiciary Committee members, wrote to the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community and requested a comprehensive review of how these authorities are being implemented across the Intelligence Community.

Additionally, there have been reports of cases of willful and intentional misuse of NSA authorities. Therefore, on August 27, 2013, I wrote a letter to the NSA’s Inspector General asking for information concerning any documented instances in which NSA employees intentionally and willfully abused their authorities. On September 11, I received a response that documented twelve such instances since 2003. Since many of these cases were referred to the Department of Justice for possible criminal prosecution, on October 2, I followed up with a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, asking whether any of these individuals were prosecuted. On January 29, 2014, I questioned the Attorney General further about this during an oversight hearing in the Judiciary Committee. In early 2015, I received a response from the Department of Justice that simply restated the same information that I previously received from the NSA. That response was unacceptable, and I am continuing to follow up with the Department about why none of the individuals responsible for these abuses appear to have been held accountable.

Also in January 2014, the President announced a number of significant changes to the Section 215 bulk metadata program. He ordered the Attorney General and the intelligence community to develop proposals for transitioning the program to a new arrangement in which the operational value of the program is preserved, but the telephone metadata will no longer be held by the government. Moreover, as an additional safeguard, the government had to obtain a FISA Court order every time it sought to access or query the metadata. Finally, the Administration announced new guidelines that permit technology companies to be more transparent with their customers by providing aggregate data concerning their responses to FISA Court orders and directives, as well as national security letters.

You may be aware that on June 2, 2015, I voted for the USA FREEDOM Act, which had previously passed the House of Representatives on a vote of 338-88. This legislation will end the bulk collection of telephone metadata under Section 215 after a transition period and replace it with a more targeted approach in which the metadata is no longer held by the government. The bill also adds additional transparency and oversight to the government’s use of the Section 215 and 702 authorities.

The vote took place a day after the Section 215 authority, as well as the less controversial “lone wolf” and roving wiretap authorities, had expired on June 1. In voting for this legislation, I was mindful of the need to reform the Section 215 authority to end bulk collection. But I was also mindful of the need to reauthorize Section 215, which continues to permit the targeted acquisition of business records related to suspected terrorists, as well as the other two expired authorities, as soon as possible. This bill was the only path to do so. These are important national security tools that help keep us safe in an ever more dangerous threat environment that has seen the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the beheading of American journalists in Syria in 2014, and the terrorist attacks in Paris in January 2015.

I also voted for several amendments to the bill that would have improved the amicus provision, provided the government notice if the telephone companies were not going to continue to hold the phone records for at least 18 months, and required the Director of National Intelligence to certify that the new program was operationally effective. Although these amendments would have improved the legislation, I remain hopeful that some of these deficiencies can be addressed in the future.

I will keep your thoughts in mind about this important issue as the Executive Branch implements the reforms in the USA FREEDOM Act. I am committed to ensuring that we protect Americans’ privacy while giving our intelligence community the tools, consistent with the law and the Constitution, to keep us safe. I am also committed to aggressive Congressional oversight and as much transparency as possible to ensure that NSA authorities are used responsibly. Do not hesitate to contact my office if you have any other questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Chuck

CHAIRMAN, JUDICIARY
www.grassley.senate.gov
 


12/16/2013