Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D | CA-33) made the following statement in response to the news that the ACLU and numerous plaintiffs have issued a legal challenge to another NSA mass surveillance program.
"As a Member of the National Security Subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform, I am profoundly concerned by any evidence that the constitutional rights of American citizens are being violated in the name of national security. In today's lawsuit, the ACLU and other plaintiffs charge that the National Security Agency (NSA) -- in an apparent search and seizure of mass internet traffic -- has ensnared countless private communications from US citizens.
If these charges are true, this NSA program violates the scope of authority that Congress provided in the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 and the U.S. Constitution.
I respect and commend the women and men at the NSA and our intelligence agencies for keeping Americans safe. However, it is imperative that all federal employees -- including those in the intelligence field -- understand that their highest duty is to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. As more facts about this latest NSA program come to light, if it turns out the NSA is violating our Constitutional rights, then Congress must be vigilant in reshaping or eliminating the program so that it does not violate the Constitution."