Jeff Sessions Moves to Extend National Security Letter Powers Indefinitely
Republican Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama today declared in the Senate Judiciary Committee, “it would be a mistake for us to sunset the national security letter provisions.” Under national security letter authority, a provision of Section 215 of the Patriot Act, government agents are able to obtain personal information on Americans’ activities without the warrant required by the 4th Amendment to the United States Constitution. In that hearing, Senator Dianne Feinstein responded that “they have increased mightily in number.” Sessions followed up his comments by proposing an amendment to empower the U.S. government to collect information on Americans in perpetuity, with no date at which that authority would expire.
Sessions’ effort to extend this unconstitutional collection of Americans’ private papers, communications and other records was voted down, 12 to 6.
Committee consideration of the surveillance bill will continue next week.
