Former Church Committee chief counsel: ‘New technology adds a lot to government power’

A Q&A with Frederick A.O. (“Fritz”) Schwarz, Jr, chief counsel for the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School. In the 1970s, Schwarz served as the chief counsel for the Church Committee -- a US Senate committee chaired by Sen Frank Church (D-IH) -- which investigated overreach by the intelligence community and provided close oversight of their activities following the Watergate scandal.

The Switch spoke to Schwarz about his time on the Church Committee and the parallels between the post-Watergate era and the post-9/11 era. Asked about his commentary in the Nation that it is “time for another Church Committee,” Schwarz elaborated: “I think periodically you need a methodical, deep investigation of secret government. And I think it's time for another major one.

He added, “I think it's particularly important now because new technology makes government have even greater power than it always has had. I think the Snowden leaks are a good example of what the government can do with their new technological powers.”