Wyden Warns of Potential Public Backlash From Allowing Secret Law

Speaking on the floor of the US Senate during the truncated debate on the reauthorization of the PATRIOT ACT for another four years, US Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) -- a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence -- warned his colleagues that a vote to extend the bill without amendments that would ban any Administration's ability to keep internal interpretations of the Patriot Act classified will eventually cause public outrage. Known as Secret Law, the official interpretation of the Patriot Act could dramatically differ from what the public believes the law allows. This could create severe violations of the Constitutional and Civil Rights of American Citizens.