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
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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
