Congress to hear testimony over NSA surveillance this week, Glenn Greenwald to testify via video from Rio
A bipartisan congressional group, led by Florida Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson, will hear testimony from critics of the National Security Agency’s surveillance practices for the first time since the whistleblower Edward Snowden’s explosive leaks were made public.
The hearings are slated for Wednesday, according to Politico.
According to Grayson, the hearings would serve to counter the “constant misleading information” from the intelligence community.
Last week, a vote in the House of Representatives that would have tried to curb the NSA’s practice of mass collection of phone records of millions of Americans was narrowly defeated by a vote of 205-217.
House Intelligence Committee Chair Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), said during a debate before the vote that passing the bill “takes us back to September 10th,” diminishing the military’s ability to keep tabs on terrorists.
However, not everyone shares Rogers sentiments. Grayson said, “I have been concerned about the fact that we have heard incessantly in recent weeks from General Keith Alexander [director of the NSA] and Mr James Clapper [director of National Intelligence] about their side of the story,” he said. “We have barely heard anything in Congress from critics of the program.”
The Guardian’s Glenn Greenwald, who broke the Snowden story, will testify via video-link from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, according to The Guardian.