Sec Holder, Director Clapper support Senate NSA reform bill

Attorney General Eric Holder and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper are lending their support to the Senate’s effort to rein in the National Security Agency, a boost for advocates of reform.

The two sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) in support of his bill to end the NSA’s bulk collection of Americans’ phone records. “Overall, the bill’s significant reforms should provide the public greater confidence in our programs and the checks and balances in the system,” Sec Holder and Director Clapper wrote in the joint letter. The bill, they added, “preserves essential Intelligence Community capabilities” and is “a reasonable compromise that enhances privacy and civil liberties and increases transparency.” The explicit support of two government officials charged with overseeing the intelligence agencies is a big victory for Leahy, who is in a race against the clock to get his bill, called the USA Freedom Act, passed this year.