Harry Reid Blasts Mitch McConnell For Trying To Force The Senate To Extend Illegal NSA Spying

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) blasted Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnnell (R-KY) for trying get the Senate to approve an NSA spying program that a federal appeals courted ruled illegal.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell responded to a federal appeals court ruling that most of the NSA’s phone record collection is illegal by pushing for a flat extension of the program.

In a tweet, the Democratic Senate Minority Leader blasted McConnell:

The legislation that Reid was referring to is a bill called The USA Freedom Act, which isn’t a cure-all, but it would be the first time that the Congress has acted to roll back some of the massive post-9/11 domestic surveillance state. The USA Freedom Act has attracted broad support because it is very modest reform bill that would keep the vast majority of the NSA’s activities intact.

The real change will come if Congress does not act by June 1 when the entirety of section 215 of the Patriot Act is set to expire.

Make no mistake about it. What Mitch McConnell is trying to do is strong arm the Senate into extending an illegal spying program. This course of action would be nothing new for Congress. As the federal appeals court ruling points out, the program has always been illegal and should never have been created. In fact, Congress has been extending and expanding illegal surveillance for years.

Illegal spying supporting Republicans like Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Jeff Sessions (R-AL), and Tom Cotton (R-AR) have already invoked 9/11 in an attempt to frighten the American people into voluntarily giving up their liberties.

The NSA program is illegal, and Republicans are showing their true lawless colors with an attempt to trample the freedoms of the American people.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association