Wyden: NSA violations are more serious than they stated

[Luminous Animal]

19. Here's why 'trust us' isn's working fpr the NSA any more... (WaPo)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/07/30/heres-why-trust-us-isnt-working-for-the-nsa-any-more/

But the movement to rein in the NSA is getting a second wind. Last week, the Obama administration barely defeated a House proposal, sponsored by Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), to defund the NSA’s phone records program. While technically a defeat for NSA critics, Pema Levy notes that the surprisingly close result has emboldened opponents, who have vowed to bring the issue up again after Congress returns from its August recess.

“This debate is definitely going to continue,” said Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), one of the Senate’s leading NSA critics, on C-SPAN’s “Newsmakers” program. He said that discussions in the Senate “accelerated since that extraordinary House vote.”

Shifting public opinion has put the wind at the back of Wyden and his allies. A Pew poll released on Friday found a majority of Americans believe there are not “adequate limits” on the NSA’s spying activities.

Wyden began raising the alarm about domestic surveillance long before Ed Snowden began leaking classified NSA documents last month. But Wyden has a lot more allies now than he did a few months ago. The most surprising new ally might be Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), the author of the Patriot Act.