President Bernie Sanders Would Dismantle NSA Spying

Quietly -- at least relative to his wonk-laden sermons on economic populism -- Sen Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has for years also been one of the Senate's fiercest critics of the National Security Agency's secretive surveillance operations. And, unlike Hillary Clinton, he's been remarkably clear about where he stands. The Vermont independent, who officially announced his White House bid on April 30, is widely viewed by Beltway types as more of a debate-stage prop to bounce liberal ideas off Clinton on her march toward an inevitable Democratic primary victory. But while progressives are hopeful he can serve as an Elizabeth Warren surrogate and challenge Clinton on Wall Street reform, Sen Sanders' candidacy also offers an opportunity to force Clinton to talk more concretely about domestic surveillance -- something he has not minced words about since the Edward Snowden disclosures began in 2013.

"Kids will grow up knowing that every damn thing that they do is going to be recorded some place in a file, and I think that will have a very Orwellian and very inhibiting impact on the way we live our lives," Sen Sanders said just days after the initial batch of Snowden files emerged. "I want our law enforcement people to be vigorous in going after terrorists. But I happen to believe they can do that without disregarding the Constitution of the United States or the civil liberties of the American people." In 2014, Sen Sanders sent a probing letter to Gen. Keith Alexander, then the head of the spy agency, demanding the answer to "one simple question": Has the NSA spied on members of Congress or other elected officials? (The answer, which came later: Probably.) "I am deeply concerned about recent revelations that the National Security Agency and other intelligence agencies are collecting enormous amounts of information about phone calls that Americans make, e-mails that we send, and websites that we visit," Sen Sanders wrote then. "In my view, these actions are clearly unconstitutional."