Senator Ron Wyden is on a tear. It’s probably not fair to describe him as the only legislator fighting for the fourth amendment in the face of fierce opposition from various law enforcement agencies but he’s certainly the most prominent.
His latest crusade is to get the NSA to come clean on their Fourth Amendment skirting program to purchase Americans’ location information from commercial data brokers. He not even asking them to drop the program, just to release the details of what they’re doing. The NSA, of course, is having none of that and is refusing to comply.
Wyden is responding by holding up the confirmation of the NSA’s new director, Lieutenant General Timothy Haugh. Wyden is quick to say that he has nothing against Haugh: he just wants the NSA to answer his questions.
The information isn’t even classified. The NSA is relying on the fact that it’s marked “Controlled Unclassified Information” (CUI), a made up designation with no legal basis. Rather it’s something that President Obama decreed into existence with an executive order.
Questions of what information agencies such as the NSA should release are difficult. On the one hand we want them to protect the country. On the other, we don’t want them trampling citizens rights while they’re doing that. In this case, it’s pretty clear that the reason to withhold the information is to avoid embarrassment and blowback from the citizenry. When the information is needed for legitimate purposes, the government should get a warrant as they’re supposed to. But that’s such a bother. Easier just to buy it and refuse to admit what you’re doing.