Statement on Report NSA Violated Privacy Rules from Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4)

Press Release

Himes Statement on Report NSA Violated Privacy Rules
Aug 16, 2013 Issues: Civil Rights, Intelligence

WASHINGTON, DC—Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) released the following statement regarding a leaked internal audit from May 2012 showing that the National Security Agency (NSA) violated privacy rules related to the federal government’s intelligence collection programs 2,776 times over a one-year period. According to the audit, 1,904 of these instances were “roamers,” in which a foreigner whose cellphone was being wiretapped without a warrant came to the United States, where warrants are required.

“I am quite disturbed by the news that the NSA violated laws and internal procedures established to protect Americans’ privacy nearly 3,000 times in just one year. I have been assured by the leadership in the intelligence community and by the President that there has been no abuse of these programs. These assurances factored into my decision to vote against the Amash amendment to the Defense Appropriations Act, so this new report is profoundly concerning to me. While I understand that a majority of these incidents, particularly those related to roaming, were mistakes, the bottom line is that when we are talking about constitutional rights, we need a system and culture that is zero-tolerance—the NSA must foster a culture and systems that fully protect the rights of the American people as it works to protect us from harm.

“It is clear based on today’s reports that we need to examine and improve those systems and culture within the NSA and improve congressional oversight of our nation’s intelligence gathering. While a system of this magnitude will never be without errors, the intelligence community should lean into, not away from, reporting violations of privacy to Congress. I stand ready to work with my colleagues on the committee to ensure these kinds of mistakes do not happen again and that the civil liberties of the American people are being fully respected.”