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- <http://feinstein.senate.gov/>
- Dear Ms. York:
- I received your communication indicating your concerns about the two
- National Security Agency programs that have been in the news recently.
- I appreciate that you took the time to write on this important issue
- and welcome the opportunity to respond.
- First, I understand your concerns and want to point out that by law,
- the government cannot listen to an American's telephone calls or read
- their emails without a court warrant issued upon a showing of probable
- cause. As is described in the attachment to this letter provided by
- the Executive Branch, the programs that were recently disclosed have to
- do with information about phone calls - the kind of information that
- you might find on a telephone bill - in one case, and the internet
- communications (such as email) of non-Americans outside the United
- States in the other case. Both programs are subject to checks and
- balances, and oversight by the Executive Branch, the Congress, and the
- Judiciary.
- As Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I can tell you that I
- believe the oversight we have conducted is strong and effective and I
- am doing my level best to get more information declassified. Please
- know that it is equally frustrating to me, as it is to you, that I
- cannot provide more detail on the value these programs provide and the
- strict limitations placed on how this information is used. I take
- serious my responsibility to make sure intelligence programs are
- effective, but I work equally hard to ensure that intelligence
- activities strictly comply with the Constitution and our laws and
- protect Americans' privacy rights.
- These surveillance programs have proven to be very effective in
- identifying terrorists, their activities, and those associated with
- terrorist plots, and in allowing the Intelligence Community and the
- Federal Bureau of Investigation to prevent numerous terrorist attacks.
- More information on this should be forthcoming.
- · On June 18, 2003, the Director of the National Security Agency (NSA)
- testified to the House Intelligence Committee that there have been
- "over 50 potential terrorist events" that these programs helped
- prevent.
- · While the specific uses of these surveillance programs remain largely
- classified, I have reviewed the classified testimony and reports from
- the Executive Branch that describe in detail how this surveillance has
- stopped attacks.
- · Two examples where these surveillance programs were used to prevent
- terrorist attacks were: (1) the attempted bombing of the New York City
- subway system in September 2009 by Najibullah Zazi and his
- co-conspirators; and (2) the attempted attack on a Danish newspaper
- that published cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in October 2009 by U.S.
- citizen David Headley and his associates.
- · Regarding the planned bombing of the New York City subway system, the
- NSA has determined that in early September of 2009, while monitoring
- the activities of Al Qaeda terrorists in Pakistan, NSA noted contact
- from an individual in the U.S. that the FBI subsequently identified as
- Colorado-based Najibullah Zazi. The U.S. Intelligence Community,
- including the FBI and NSA, worked in concert to determine his
- relationship with Al Qaeda, as well as identify any foreign or domestic
- terrorist links. The FBI tracked Zazi as he traveled to New York to
- meet with co-conspirators, where they were planning to conduct a
- terrorist attack using hydrogen peroxide bombs placed in backpacks.
- Zazi and his co-conspirators were subsequently arrested. Zazi
- eventually pleaded guilty to conspiring to bomb the NYC subway system.
- · Regarding terrorist David Headley, he was also involved in the
- planning and reconnaissance of the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai,
- India that killed 166 people, including six Americans. According to
- NSA, in October 2009, Headley, a Chicago businessman and dual U.S. and
- Pakistani citizen, was arrested by the FBI as he tried to depart from
- Chicago O'Hare airport on a trip to Europe. Headley was charged with
- material support to terrorism based on his involvement in the planning
- and reconnaissance of the hotel attack in Mumbai 2008. At the time of
- his arrest, Headley and his colleagues were plotting to attack the
- Danish newspaper that published the unflattering cartoons of the
- Prophet Mohammed, at the behest of Al Qaeda.
- Not only has Congress been briefed on these programs, but laws passed
- and enacted since 9/11 specifically authorize them. The surveillance
- programs are authorized by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
- (FISA), which itself was enacted by Congress in 1978 to establish the
- legal structure to carry out these programs, but also to prevent
- government abuses, such as surveillance of Americans without approval
- from the federal courts. The Act authorizes the government to gather
- communications and other information for foreign intelligence purposes.
- It also establishes privacy protections, oversight mechanisms
- (including court review), and other restrictions to protect privacy
- rights of Americans.
- The laws that have established and reauthorized these programs since
- 9/11 have passed by mostly overwhelming margins. For example, the
- phone call business record program was reauthorized most recently on
- May 26, 2011 by a vote of 72-23 in the Senate and 250-153 in the House.
- The internet communications program was reauthorized most recently on
- December 30, 2012 by a vote of 73-22 in the Senate and 301-118 in the
- House.
- Attached to this letter is a brief summary of the two intelligence
- surveillance programs that were recently disclosed in media articles.
- While I very much regret the disclosure of classified information in a
- way that will damage our ability to identify and stop terrorist
- activity, I believe it is important to ensure that the public record
- now available on these programs is accurate and provided with the
- proper context.
- Again, thank you for contacting me with your concerns and comments. I
- appreciate knowing your views and hope you continue to inform me of
- issues that matter to you. If you have any additional questions or
- concerns, please do not hesitate to contact my office in Washington,
- D.C. at (202) 224-3841.
- Sincerely yours,
- Dianne Feinstein
- United States Senator
- Further information about my position on issues of concern to
- California and the nation are available at my website,
- Feinstein.senate.gov <http://feinstein.senate.gov/public/> . You can
- also receive electronic e-mail updates by subscribing to my e-mail
- list. Click here to sign up.
- <http://feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/signup> And please
- visit my YouTube <http://www.youtube.com/Senatorfeinstein> , Facebook
- <http://www.facebook.com/Senatorfeinstein> and Twitter
- <http://www.twitter.com/Senfeinstein> for more ways to communicate
- with me.
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