Senators call for investigation of surveillance programs

Nine Senate Judiciary Committee members called on the intelligence community's inspector general to conduct "comprehensive reviews" of the government's surveillance programs.

The bipartisan group wrote that recently declassified documents "appear to reveal numerous violations of law and policy." They urged Charles McCullough, the inspector general of the intelligence community, to prepare reports detailing how the National Security Agency collects information and, in particular, information on people in the United States. They also asked him to report on privacy safeguards, any abuses of power and the effectiveness of the programs. The letter was signed by Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT), ranking member Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Sens. Charles Schumer (D-NY), Mike Lee (R-UT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Chris Coons (D-DL), Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).