Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Security & Liberty
Wyden, Udall Question the Value and Efficacy of Phone Records Collection in Stopping Attacks
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.) issued the following joint statement challenging claims that bulk phone record collection by the Intelligence Community has been "a critical tool in protecting the nation." Wyden and Udall are members of the Senate Intelligence Committee. "In our capacity as members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, we have spent years examining the intelligence collection operations that have been secretly authorized … Continue Reading
June 06, 2013
Wyden Statement on Alleged Large-Scale Collection of Phone Records
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), released this statement following news reports alleging that the U.S. Government has collected the phone records of millions of Verizon customers. Wyden is a senior member of the Senate Intelligence committee. "The program Senators Feinstein and Chambliss publicly referred to today is one that I have been concerned about for years. I am barred by Senate rules from commenting on some of the details at this time. However, I believe that … Continue Reading
May 23, 2013
Wyden Statement on the President’s Speech at the National Defense University
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued the following statement in response to President Obama's counterterrorism speech at the National Defense University: "The President said today that 'we must define the nature and scope' of the conflict with al-Qa'ida, 'or else it will define us.' I couldn't agree more. In my twelve years on the Senate Intelligence Committee I have seen the consequences of letting this struggle define the United States. The President's speech today was … Continue Reading
May 15, 2013
Wyden Statement on the Government Acquisition of AP Phone Records
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) released the following statement in response to press reports about government collection of the Associated Press' phone records. Wyden, a senior member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, has long been a staunch advocate for press freedom. "I am very troubled by the recent reports of the government acquiring large amounts of the Associated Press' phone records. The breadth of these subpoenas raises serious questions about how … Continue Reading
March 05, 2013
Wyden, Udall, Collins Statement on Committee Access to Targeted Killing Documents
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) released the following statement after the Department of Justice provided memos outlining the President's ability to authorize the targeted killing of Americans during counter-terrorism operations: "The administration has now provided the Senate Intelligence Committee with full access to documents outlining the President's authority to conduct targeted killings of Americans in counter … Continue Reading
February 05, 2013
Wyden Statement on DOJ Memo on the Killing of Americans During Counterterrorism Operations
Washington, D.C. - US Senator Ron Wyden, a senior member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, made the following statement today regarding a Justice Department paper entitled "Lawfulness of a Lethal Operation Against a U.S. Citizen Who Is a Senior Operational Leader of Al-Qa'ida or An Associated Force" which was made public yesterday by NBC News: "As I and ten other senators told the President yesterday, if individual Americans choose to take up arms against the United States, … Continue Reading
February 04, 2013
Bipartisan Group of Senators Seeks Legal Justifications for the Deliberate Killing of Americans
Washington, D.C. - As the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence prepares to consider White House national security official John Brennan's nomination to be the next Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Mark Udall (D-Colo.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Dick Durbin (Ill.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Mark Begich (D-Alaska) and Al Franken (D- Minn.) have sent a letter to … Continue Reading
January 14, 2013
Wyden Letter to CIA Director-nominee Brennan Seeks Legal Opinions on Killing of Americans
Washington, D.C. - With the confirmation process for Deputy National Security Advisor John Brennan to be Director of the Central Intelligence Agency set to be begin shortly, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, is asking Brennan to provide Congress with the secret legal opinions outlining the government's ability to target and kill Americans believed to be involved in terrorism. In a letter to Brennan sent today, Wyden reiterated his … Continue Reading
December 21, 2012
Wyden Floor Statement on the Removal of Controversial Leaks Provisions from Intelligence Authorization Bill
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) delivered the following floor speech after controversial leaks provisions that would have inhibited free speech and denied due process for intelligence officials suspected of leaking classified information were removed from the Intelligence Authorization Act of 2013. Wyden was the only vote against the Intelligence Authorization bill in committee and placed a public hold on the bill last month. "M. President, the Senate is being asked today … Continue Reading
December 07, 2012
Wyden Statement on Release of Public Interest Declassification Board Report
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued the following statement after the release of the Public Interest Declassification Board's report on classification procedures used by the US government: "The balance between the public's right to know and the government's need to keep certain things secret is essential to the preservation of both democracy and national security. However, the tendency of the government to over-classify information can undermine national security and … Continue Reading
November 14, 2012
Wyden Places Hold on Intelligence Authorization Bill
Washington, D.C. - Citing concerns over anti-leak provisions that would inhibit free speech and damage the news media's ability to report on national security issues, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) publicly placed a hold on the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, preventing it from passing without serious debate and amendment. "I think Congress should be extremely skeptical of any anti-leaks bills that threaten to encroach upon the freedom of the press, or that would reduce … Continue Reading
July 31, 2012
Wyden Amendments to Cyber Bill Clarify Rules for GPS Tracking; Seek Privacy Protection in the Cloud
Washington, D.C. - As the technological capabilities of cloud storage and location tracking continue to grow, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has filed amendments to the Cybersecurity Act being debated in the Senate to provide clear rules for how and when the government can access location tracking data from individuals' cell phones and other electronic devices, limit government access to private information stored by cloud storage services alongside government data, and strengthen limits on … Continue Reading
July 26, 2012
Senators Seek Answers from DNI on How Many of Americans’ Communications Have Been Monitored
Washington, D.C. - As the U.S. Senate debates the renewal of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, a letter from U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and a bipartisan group of legislators including Mark Udall (D-Colo.) Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Mike Lee (R- Utah), Bernie Sanders (I-VT.), Tom Udall (D-NM), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Dick Durbin (D-Il.) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) requests more information about the number of Americans' communications … Continue Reading
June 11, 2012
Wyden Places Hold on FISA Amendments Act Extension
Washington, D.C. - Continuing his career-long practice of publicly announcing his holds on legislation, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a senior member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), announced that he will block unanimous consent requests to pass a five-year extension of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (FAA). Wyden identified two specific concerns that he believes Congress must address before agreeing to a long-term extension of FAA's authorities. The first … Continue Reading
March 05, 2012
Wyden Says Attorney General’s Speech at Northwestern University Leaves Questions Unanswered
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a senior member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, issued the below statement regarding Attorney General Holder's speech to Northwestern University this afternoon addressing the president's counterterrorism authorities and the administration's understanding of its power to use lethal force against U.S. citizens. Wyden has been asking to see the Administration's secret legal opinions on this topic for more than a year and last … Continue Reading
February 08, 2012
Wyden Continues to Press Justice Department to Explain the Extent of its Authority to Kill Americans
Washington, D.C. In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden called the Administration's refusal to share legal opinions pertaining to the executive branch's understanding of its authority to kill Americans "an indefensible assertion of executive authority." Wyden has been pressing the Justice Department and other administration officials to share its legal interpretations of the government's authority in this area for more than a year but, as the Senator writes, "it … Continue Reading
January 23, 2012
Wyden Statement on Supreme Court's Ruling Requiring a Warrant to Track Suspects Using a GPS Device
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) issued the following statement in response to today's Supreme Court ruling that the Fourth Amendment requires law enforcement to obtain a warrant before installing a GPS tracking device on an individual's car and using it to track that person's movements: "Today's ruling confirms that constitutional protections of civil liberties extend to 21st century technology. However, while this ruling settles the question of whether law enforcement … Continue Reading
December 16, 2011
Kirk, Wyden Request Probe of FBI Usage of Wireless Tracking Software
WASHINGTON - Following reports that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) may be using mobile tracking software to monitor Americans' cell phones and mobile devices without their knowledge, United States Senators Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) today sent a letter to the Acting Inspector General of the Department of Justice requesting an investigation of the alleged secret surveillance. The software, developed by Carrier IQ, has reportedly been pre-installed on nearly 150 million … Continue Reading
December 15, 2011
Wyden Statement on Passage of the Intelligence Authorization Act
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a senior member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, issued the following statement regarding the recent passage of the Intelligence Authorization Act: "I'm pleased that the final version of the 2012 Intelligence Authorization Act does not include the multi-year extension of the FISA Amendments Act that was included in the Senate version of the bill. I opposed the Senate version of the bill, and I announced a public hold on it, … Continue Reading
October 18, 2011
Senator Kirk Joins Wyden as Cosponsor of Digital Surveillance Legislation
Washington, D.C. - Surrounded by technology that was considered cutting edge when major digital surveillance laws were written, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) welcomed U.S. Senator Mark Kirk (R- Ill.) as a cosponsor of the Geolocation Privacy and Surveillance Act (GPS) which provides sorely needed legal clarity for the use of electronically-obtained location data that can be used to track and log the location and movements of individual Americans. The GPS Act was introduced in June by Wyden … Continue Reading
