National Journal: Patriot Act author wants the NSA to stop spying on Americans

Another blow has been struck against NSA spying as Patriot Act author Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner calls for closing of loopholes that allow spying on American citizens. Sound off against spying at

Another blow has been struck against NSA spying as Patriot Act author Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner calls for closing of loopholes that allow spying on American citizens. Sound off against spying at openmedia.org/fightback

Article by Dustin Volz for National Journal

The one-time champion of granting the intelligence community more surveillance authority is redoubling efforts to pass his spying reform bill amid revelations the NSA intentionally spied on Americans through a law meant to apply only to foreigners.

Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner on Wednesday said his Freedom Act would close a "loophole" a senior intelligence official recently admitted the NSA has exploited to spy on the actual contents—and not just "metadata"—of Americans' communications without a warrant.

"We now know Section 702 of [the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] has been improperly used to obtain the content of Americans' private communications without a warrant, which is unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment and a blatant violation of Americans' civil liberties," the Wisconsin Republican said in a statement. "The USA Freedom Act ends bulk collection, closes the loophole being exploited to access the communications of Americans, and strikes the proper balance between privacy and security."

- Read more at National Journal