match surveillance that they actually didn t have to bother telling the president on a sort of project-by-project basis. and i do think there s a change in the last 48 to 72 hours within the administration, that there s a sense that maybe the nsa has gone too far and maybe there does need to be some rethinking of it. so and i appreciate that point, that it doesn t necessarily mean sort of bad presidential behavior, but a set of institutional practices that have emerged, particularly post-patriot act. thanks to all of you for being here and being thoughtful with me. i get trolled for privacy all the time. so it s useful to me to have an engaging conversation as i try to think through these questions. thank you to barton gellman and kiner skinner and noah shackman. when we come back, we are going to talk about the very unusual decision made in newtown, connecticut, and what is happening there, right now.
the one that undermines you and i, americans rights. ultimately, the case is dismissed against brandon mayfield, who later sues the federal government. his legal challenge of the patriot act is dismissed. but federal authorities do issue two formal apologies, and mayfield is eventually awarded a monetary settlement. i grew up in kansas, so a handshake and an apology mean something to me. you reflect on what this decade has been like, how would you describe the overall experience? it was the darkest, most harrowing ordeal on myself or my family ever had to experience. to quote benjamin franklin, those who would give up liberty for security will lose both and deserve neither. coming up, the business of warning america. folks, these are terrorists. they come kill your kids. with the spark cash card from capital one.
it always has. post-9/11 with the powers of the patriot act and some of the other expanded powers that the government took, did false id become a more dangerous thing? there are certain rights that were demanded by the people and guaranteed to us. and one of those is the fourth amendment to privacy, which essentially says you re to be free against unreasonable searches and seizures, and no warrant shall be issued but upon probable cause, particularly describing the place, person or thing to be seized. and it is seriously under attack. prior to the patriot act of 2001, guidelines for search and surveillance are spelled out by the foreign intelligence surveillance act of 1978. it allows for secret surveillance only to gather foreign intelligence. the patriot act amended that, and it seemed like a slight, innocuous change. but it said you could get a secret warrant to do a secret search so long as the significant purpose was to gain foreign intelligence. the wall that was breached i
the around the law extraordinary intrusion powers previously reserved for america s spies abroad, for the black arts of the intelligence world, are now put in the hands of law enforcement. the uniting and strengthening america by providing appropriate tools required to intercept and obstruct terrorism act of 2001, better known as the usa patriot act, tears down many of the walls constructed over the years between law enforcement and spying, walls designed to protect american citizens from being spied on by our own government, walls designed ultimately to protect the presumption of innocence. walls that came tumbling down on brandon mayfield. when did you first have a sense that you and your family might have been subject to direct surveillance by the government? there were footprints on the floor that were bigger than any shoe size that we had. so we could only surmise that
overreach back in 2000, and as a libertarian, he s not exactly in favor of the government interfering in our lives anyway. congressman bar joins me now, thanks for coming in. i wish it were a more pleasant topic, but it s good to be here. let s start with that, you said, i told you so, which says to me you re not really surprised by these revelations. not at all. even before the usa patriot act, there were signs we saw in a congress, at least a number of saw that the government was moving far too fast and far too quietly and under the table in the direction of massive databasing of americans communications. it accelerated greatly after 9/11 with the patriot act and foreign intelligence surveillance act expansions, and voila, now we have absolute data mining, dragnet data mining, by the government. it s very troubling. the president said, though, americans aren t being targeted, it s foreigners overseas.