President Obama and the government’s chief intelligence official made a plea Friday for Senate Republican leaders to relent in their fight to preserve the National Security Agency’s phone-snooping program, saying that unless a deal is reached by Sunday, investigators will no longer be able to apply for new roving wiretaps come Monday.
James R. Clapper, director of national intelligence, said the FBI will also lose its power to demand businesses turn over records even in cases where an individual suspect is named, with the expiration of Section 215 of the Patriot Act.
Mr. Clapper urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his lieutenants to give up their blockade and pass the USA Freedom Act, which would extend the key Patriot Act powers, albeit with new restrictions that would prevent the Section 215 business records provision from being used to scoop up data in bulk on all Americans.
“At this late date, prompt passage of the USA Freedom Act by the Senate is the best way to minimize any possible disruption of our ability to protect the American people,” Mr. Clapper said in a statement.
Mr. Obama echoed those sentiments during brief remarks following an Oval Office meeting with Attorney General Loretta Lynch, singling out Mr. McConnell and saying he’s been in contact with the majority leader and other key senators.
“These authorities expire on Sunday at midnight. And I don’t want us to be in a situation in which, for a certain period of time, those authorities go away and suddenly we’re dark and, heaven forbid, we’ve got a problem where we could have prevented a terrorist attack or apprehended someone who was engaged in dangerous activity, but we didn’t do so simply because of inaction in the Senate,” the president said. “So I have indicated to Leader McConnell and other senators I expect them to take action and take action swiftly. That’s what the American people deserve.”
Mr. McConnell argues that bulk collection is both legal and critical — and he defends the National Security Agency program to gather metadata from Americans’ phone calls. The Kentucky Republican led a filibuster to stop the USA Freedom Act a week ago, and was hoping to force colleagues instead to accept his own proposal to fully extend the Patriot Act.
But his gambit failed, and his position was shown to be the weaker one in dueling votes.
Mr. McConnell has called the Senate back into session late Sunday for a final showdown, but there has been no sign of a deal, and neither side appears ready to relent.
Without any action three key Patriot Act powers will expire at midnight Sunday.
The House overwhelmingly passed the USA Freedom Act earlier in May, and House lawmakers aren’t slated to return until Monday, meaning a McConnell retreat is the most likely avenue for preventing expiration, Mr. Clapper said.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.