Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Secret Law
Wyden Statement on CIA Accountability Board Report on Agency’s Secret Search of U.S. Senate Files
Washington, D.C. -Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement on the CIA Accountability Board's report on the agency's secret search of Senate Intelligence Committee files: "Both the CIA Inspector General and the review board appointed by Director Brennan have now concluded that the CIA's unauthorized search of Senate files was improper. It is incredible that no one at the CIA has been held accountable for this very clear violation of Constitutional principles. Director Brennan … Continue Reading
December 09, 2014
Wyden: Senate Report Shows CIA Torture Did Not Work and America Should Never Torture Again
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today responded to the release of the Senate Intelligence Committee report on torture by the Central Intelligence Agency. "Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, a small number of CIA officials decided to listen to the advice of outside contractors who told them that the way to quickly get important information from captured terrorist suspects was by using coercive interrogation techniques that had been developed and used by … Continue Reading
October 31, 2014
Wyden: CIA Demand To Black Out Torture Report Details Would Be Unprecedented
Washington, D.C. -The Central Intelligence Agency's call to black out all pseudonyms from the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on torture would be unprecedented - and represents an unacceptable effort to obscure key facts, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said today. "This report is about mistakes, misdeeds and falsehoods that were repeated over a period of years. If you don't know whether they were repeated by different officials each time, or by the same officials over and over, you really … Continue Reading
June 26, 2014
Wyden, Udall, Heinrich Press Obama Administration for Additional Transparency on U.S. Drone Policy
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Mark Udall, D-Colo., and Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., pressed the Obama administration today for additional transparency on U.S. drone policy, including its interpretations of when it can take lethal action outside of declared war zones and against Americans. The senators - all members of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence - also said the American people have a right to know the "limits and boundaries" of the president's power to … Continue Reading
June 23, 2014
Wyden Statement on the Release of Justice Department Memo on Using Lethal Force Against Americans
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement today on the release of a 2010 Justice Department Memo on the use of lethal force against Americans: "I believe every American has the right to know when their government believes it is allowed to kill them, and the public release of this memo is a positive step toward reducing the secrecy that surrounds this question. However, there are many important questions that this memo does not address. It is my hope that … Continue Reading
June 20, 2014
Wyden Congratulates House on Bipartisan Vote to Ban Backdoor Searches
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement today, praising the House vote last night to ban backdoor searches: "Last night the House of Representatives took a big step forward for Americans' privacy rights by voting to prohibit intelligence agencies from deliberately reading Americans' emails and private communications without a warrant. As Americans learned last summer, the NSA is currently scooping up a potentially huge number of Americans' emails, under an … Continue Reading
June 20, 2014
Wyden, Udall, Heinrich Urge President to End Bulk Collection While Congress Works to Pass Real Surveillance Reform
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Mark Udall (D-Colo.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) urged President Obama to take immediate steps - while Congress works to pass true surveillance reform - to end the ongoing bulk collection of Americans' phone records. The senators, who all serve on the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said the president should take every step he can under current law to end bulk collection, and rely on individual requests to the Foreign Intelligence … Continue Reading
June 19, 2014
Wyden, Grassley Press for Answers on Continuous Monitoring of Whistleblower and Legislative Branch Communications
WASHINGTON - Senators Chuck Grassley and Ron Wyden are pressing the Director of National Intelligence to explain in detail how the intelligence community plans to implement continuous monitoring of security clearance holders without undermining legal protections for whistleblowers or constitutional protections for the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches. In a letter to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Grassley and Wyden noted that any monitoring … Continue Reading
June 05, 2014
Wyden Statement at Intelligence Committee Hearing: Why Hasn’t The Executive Branch Stopped Vacuuming Up Americans’ Phone Records?
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., emphasized the need to pass a true reform bill that guarantees the end of overreaching mass surveillance programs, and asked why the executive branch hasn't ended unnecessary and intrusive collection of American's records, during a rare open session of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence today. Watch Sen. Wyden's questions here. A transcript of his questions is below: First round: WYDEN: Thank you Madam Chair, let me commend you on … Continue Reading
May 22, 2014
Wyden Opposes Watered-Down House USA Freedom Act
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement on the U.S. House passage of its version of the USA Freedom Act: "I am gravely concerned that the changes that have been made to the House version of this bill have watered it down so far that it fails to protect Americans from suspicionless mass surveillance. The new text of the bill states that the government must use a 'selection term' to collect Americans' records, but the bill's definition of a "selection term" … Continue Reading
April 01, 2014
Wyden, Udall on Revelations that Intelligence Agencies Have Exploited Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act 'Loophole'
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.), who serve on the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, issued the following statement following revelations that the National Security Agency has been exploiting a loophole in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to search for Americans' private communications: "It is now clear to the public that the list of ongoing intrusive surveillance practices by the NSA includes not only bulk collection of … Continue Reading
March 21, 2014
Wyden Statement on Majority Leader’s Letters Regarding CIA’s Unauthorized Access of Intelligence Committee Computer Files
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) released the following statement in response to letters sent by Majority Leader Harry Reid to CIA Director John Brennan and Attorney General Eric Holder expressing concern over the CIA's searches of computers designated for the Senate Intelligence committee and allegations of misconduct against committee staff. "Senator Reid's letters are right on point, and it's incredibly valuable to have the Majority Leader standing up for congressional … Continue Reading
March 11, 2014
Wyden Statement on CIA Search of Computers Used by Senate Intelligence Committee
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) released the following statement in response to Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein's floor speech on the CIA's searching of computers used by the Senate Intelligence Committee: "I commend Chairman Feinstein for shining a light on the unprecedented invasion by the CIA into computers used by Senate Intelligence Committee investigators. The CIA's own recent court filing makes clear that the work product on these computers … Continue Reading
March 05, 2014
Brennan Letter to Wyden Acknowledges that CFAA Applies to the CIA
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) released the following letter from Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan acknowledging that the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act applies to the CIA. The question was asked of Brennan by Wyden in a public hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee on January 29, 2014. Wyden is a senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Wyden asked Brennan: "Does the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act apply to the CIA?" Brennan Letter … Continue Reading
January 29, 2014
Wyden Statement at Senate Intelligence Committee’s Open Hearing
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) delivered the following statement prior to questioning senior Intelligence Community officials during the Senate Intelligence Committee's open hearing. Wyden is a senior member of the Intelligence committee. "The men and women of America's intelligence agencies are overwhelmingly dedicated professionals and they deserve to have leadership that is trusted by the American people. Unfortunately, that trust has been seriously undermined by senior … Continue Reading
January 23, 2014
Wyden Statement on PCLOB Report on Bulk Collection
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued the following statement regarding the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board's report on bulk collection. Wyden is a senior member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. "The privacy board's findings closely mirror many of the criticisms made by surveillance reform advocates. The bulk collection program was built on a murky legal foundation that raises many constitutional questions and has been proven to be an ineffective tool … Continue Reading
January 10, 2014
Udall, Wyden, Heinrich Press White House to Make Common-Sense, Constitutional Reforms to NSA Surveillance, Protect Privacy
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Mark Udall (D-Colo.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) - all members of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence - in a letter pressed the White House today to take swift action to rein in the National Security Agency's pervasive and constitutionally flawed domestic surveillance activities and to adopt reforms that protect privacy while ensuring American security. The senators urged the president in their letter to adopt many of the … Continue Reading
December 16, 2013
Wyden Statement on U.S. District Court Ruling on Bulk Collection of Phone Records
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued the following statement regarding the U.S. District Court's ruling on bulk collection of phone records. "Judge Leon's ruling hits the nail on the head. It makes clear that bulk phone records collection is intrusive digital surveillance and not simply inoffensive data collection as some have said. The court noted that this metadata can be used for 'repetitive, surreptitious surveillance of a citizen's private goings on,' that creates a … Continue Reading
November 21, 2013
Udall, Wyden, Heinrich Urge Solicitor General to Set Record Straight on Misrepresentations to U.S. Supreme Court in Clapper v. Amnesty
WASHINGTON- U.S. Senators Mark Udall (D-Colo.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) urged U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli today to answer a series of questions regarding statements and oral arguments the government made to the U.S. Supreme Court. Statements made in the recent case Clapper v. Amnesty International inaccurately described how the government collects Americans' private communications, specifically omitting recently declassified collection criteria. Udall, Wyden … Continue Reading
November 19, 2013
Udall, Wyden, Heinrich Challenge Effectiveness of Dragnet Surveillance Program in NSA Court Case
WASHINGTON- U.S. Senators Mark Udall (D-Colo.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), members of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, today challenged the effectiveness of the National Security Agency's bulk phone records collection program. The senators' amicus curiae brief, filed in theFirst Unitarian Church vs. National Security Agency U.S. District Court case, questioned a central premise of the government's argument. The brief argues that after extensive review, … Continue Reading
