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Radio News: Hayden changes tune on USA Freedom Act
Jun 18, 2015 9:55 pm
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Michael Hayden, from Wikipedia.[/caption]For months, former NSA and CIA director Michael Hayden has been claiming that, if passed, the USA Freedom Act would lead to dire consequencies for American security. Before the slight reform of the Patriot Act passed a few weeks ago, Hayden said, "The bill’s imposition of the warrant requirement on the NSA would be more burdensome than what any assistant U.S. attorney must do to get metadata in a routine criminal case, which is simply to aver that the information is needed in connection with a criminal investigation—period." Now that the USA Freedom Act is law of the land, Techdirt reports he's singing a different tune. "If somebody would come up to me and say “Look, Hayden, here’s the thing: This Snowden thing is going to be a nightmare for you guys for about two years. And when we get all done with it, what you’re going to be required to do is that little 215 program about American telephony metadata — and by the way, you can still have access to it, but you got to go to the court and get access to it from the companies, rather than keep it to yourself” — I go: “And this is it after two years? Cool!”
Michael Hayden, from Wikipedia.[/caption]For months, former NSA and CIA director Michael Hayden has been claiming that, if passed, the USA Freedom Act would lead to dire consequencies for American security. Before the slight reform of the Patriot Act passed a few weeks ago, Hayden said, "The bill’s imposition of the warrant requirement on the NSA would be more burdensome than what any assistant U.S. attorney must do to get metadata in a routine criminal case, which is simply to aver that the information is needed in connection with a criminal investigation—period." Now that the USA Freedom Act is law of the land, Techdirt reports he's singing a different tune. "If somebody would come up to me and say “Look, Hayden, here’s the thing: This Snowden thing is going to be a nightmare for you guys for about two years. And when we get all done with it, what you’re going to be required to do is that little 215 program about American telephony metadata — and by the way, you can still have access to it, but you got to go to the court and get access to it from the companies, rather than keep it to yourself” — I go: “And this is it after two years? Cool!”