8 July 2013
Adam Smith
United States House of Representatives
2264 Rayburn Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Representative Smith--
On the morning of July 4th, while I was putting up the flag in front of my home, I paused a moment to reflect on the state of our nation's democracy, and the state of the people's freedoms within that democracy.
I immediately thought of Edward Snowden, currently a fugitive from our government, accused of divulging classified information to a foreign newspaper. It is not my intent to defend Mr. Snowden here. The unauthorized release of classified information is a criminal act, and Mr. Snowden should defend his actions in a open court of law.
Regardless of what laws Mr. Snowden violated by releasing it (or what laws I have broken by receiving it) I am in possession of a copy of a court order, docket number BR 13-80, issued by Judge Roger Vinson, then of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. This order is classified Top Secret, Special Intelligence Material, No Foreign Release.
This order, the application for which Judge Vinson determined "satisfies the requirements of 50 U.S.C. § 1861," requires Verizon Business Services--to whose wireless telephony services I subscribe--to produce to the National Security Agency (NSA) "all call detail records … created by Verizon for communications … wholly within the United States including local telephone calls," among other things. (Emphasis mine.)
I then looked up 50 U.S.C. § 1861. § 1861(a)(1) says, in part:
the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation or a designee of the Director … may make an application for an order requiring the production of any tangible things (including books, records, papers, documents, and other items) for an investigation to obtain foreign intelligence information not concerning a United States person or to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities …
I am a "United States person," and I regularly use my Verizon wireless telephone to converse with other United States persons. It follows that the collection of my call records is intended to protect our nation against terrorism or foreign espionage.
Taken to the extreme, the chain of logic also suggests that I, Christopher J. Osburn of Seattle, Washington, am a suspect or person of interest in a program of terrorism or foreign espionage.
As is every single one of Verizon's wireless subscribers.
Ridiculous.
An alternative view is that the application for this court order does not in fact satisfy § 1861, that the order was issued unlawfully by a federal judge who, before being seated, swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution and the laws of the United States.
Since Verizon is one of our country's largest wireless service providers, over one hundred million people fall into the ambit of this warrant. The notion that the government has probable cause for a warrant covering the call data of all these people is likewise ridiculous. Not only is the warrant unlawful, but its generality is a flagrant violation of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
The very fact that a law enforcement agency can apply for such a warrant, have it granted, and have the entire proceeding classified top secret answers immediately my reflections upon the state of our democracy and our freedoms.
The answer is that they no longer exist. That the United States of America is a police state in fact, that none of us are safe in our homes from intrusive law enforcement, that a certain amount of "freedom activity," such as street protests, the appearance of a free press, and the apparent right to petition for redress of grievances, is tolerated to prevent the general populace from engaging in a second American Revolution, as unlawful and treasonous as the Revolution we celebrate every year on July 4th.
Or, put another way, government "of the people, by the people, for the people" has perished from the earth.
The oath that Judge Vinson swore upon being seated on the federal bench is more than a formality. It is, in a very real sense, his statement that he has pledged "his life, his fortune, and his sacred honor" to protect and defend the Constitution. I was privileged to swear that oath in 1981 when I enlisted in our nation's armed forces, and you swore that same oath when you took your seat in the House of Representatives.
And by my oath, I call upon your oath, to take every action necessary to abate this and other threats to our democracy and freedom, secret and malicious as they are, to act strongly to return openness and transparency to our government, and to secure liberty and freedom for all.
Right or wrong, Edward Snowden has pledged his life, fortune, and sacred honor. We can do no less.
Sincerely,
Christopher J. Osburn