Voice For Liberty

Pompeo on national security issues

Bob Weeks

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On the Joseph Ashby Show today, U.S. Representative Mike Pompeo of Wichita explained his views on our national security programs.

[powerpress url=”http://wichitaliberty.org/audio/joseph-ashby-show-2013-07-16-excerpt-mike-pompeo.mp3″]U.S. Representative Mike Pompeo on the Joseph Ashby Show.

When the host drew an analogy between the National Security Agency’s collection of data and the Internal Revenue Service scandals, Pompeo said: “Had there been this kind of oversight of Lois Lerner, this would not have happened.” He went on to explain that oversight of IRS is all by one branch of government, the executive branch. Oversight of NSA is “radically different,” he said.

Pompeo also noted that while we should not minimize the importance of the IRS scandals, national security is a much weightier matter.

Interestingly, the perception of the breadth of data that’s being collected may be overstated. In a June 18 hearing of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Pompeo asked these questions of the Director of the NSA (video follows):

Pompeo: Gen. Alexander, from the data under Section 215 that’s collected, can you figure out the location of the person who made a particular phone call?

General Keith Alexander, Director of the National Security Agency: Not beyond the area code.

Pompeo: Do you have any information about signal strength or tower direction? I’ve seen articles that talked about you having this information. I want to make sure for the record we’re got that right.

Alexander: We don’t have that in the database.

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Comments

One response to “Pompeo on national security issues”

  1. R D Fry

    Pompeo is Spokesperson for Neo-Con / D.C. Elite

    Pompeo is demonstrating by his position on the NSA spying his disregard for the Constitution, the will of the People, a disregard for the truth, and his willingness to be a willing shill for the Neo-Cons and power elite in D.C.

    Although Pompeo was not even in Congress in 2001 when the PATRIOT Act was passed (or the 1978 FISA) he tells us NSA’s §215 spying is inside the “scope of [NSA’s] authorities” and inside NSA’s “legal bounds”. Many experts and key Congressmen absolutely disagree with Pompeo’s assessment.

    Representative Jim Sensenbrenner, the 2001 drafter and sponsor of the Patriot Act (including §215), has said about the NSA’s actions that:

    § 215 was never intended to allow a dragnet surveillance of all phone records , that §215 “was originally drafted to prevent data mining” , is excessive and un-American..” (emphasis added) ” are relying on an unbounded interpretation of the act that Congress never intended… This is well beyond what the Patriot Act allows.” (emphasis added) “…I am extremely disturbed by what appears to be an overboard interpretation of the [Patriot] Act…. raise questions about whether our constitutional rights are secure…. I do not believe the released FISA order is consistent with the requirements of the Patriot Act. How could the phone records of so many innocent Americans be relevant to an authorized investigation as required by the Act? the excuses used by lawmakers and the executive branch for what the NSA has been up to is “a bunch of bunk.”

    As we are all aware Sensenbrenner is far from being alone on his assessment.

    There is nothing in the Constitution that says if all three branches of government are involved in a violation of the peoples fundamental rights that makes it OK. Even if it were constitutional that does not mean the government can disregard We the People’s will.

    Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, FBI Director Robert Mueller and National Security Agency Director General Keith Alexander have all either out right lied to Congress or supplied incorrect or misleading information about the NSA’s spying on the American people. Mike you may choose to believe Big Brother but don’t expect the rest of us to do so.

    Also note this is not the first time Pompeo has wiped his feet on the Constitution and Bill of Rights. He voted for and is an ardent supporter of the 2012 NDAA citizen distension provisions. They allowed a U.S. citizen, even in the United States, to be indefinitely detained upon the mere suspicion of the executive branch that they were involved in terrorism. They will not be given access to an attorney, not allowed to see evidence against them or allowed to confront witnesses against them. It is operated like the no -fly list except the target is held in prison. This is reminiscent of the Soviet and Red China systems.

    Pompeo mislead the public regarding what the NDAA does and to whom it applied.

    Mike is not a friend to the Constitution or a fan of the will of the people.

    For the sake of Liberty,
    Richard D. Fry
    General Counsel
    Patriot Coalition

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