Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) both defended the National Security Agency’s surveillance program on Tuesday.
“What’s clear from this information released by the [director of national intelligence] is that each of these programs is authorized by law, overseen by Congress and the courts, and subject to ongoing and rigorous oversight,” McConnell told reporters in the Capitol.
He noted that the director of national intelligence has declassified chunks of material that explains the programs in question. He acknowledged concerns about “issues related to privacy” but defended the NSA after intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, 29, leaked information to The Guardian about the agency collecting phone records of millions of Americans.
Reid, meanwhile, praised Senate Intelligence Chair Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and other members of the committee, Democrat and Republican.
“They have done their very utmost in my opinion to conduct oversight,” he said. “And that’s why the American people in two polls I saw today support what is happening with trying to stop terrorists from doing bad things to us.”
Asked if believes there’s been enough oversight of the NSA surveillance programs, the Democratic leader demurred. “Enough is something that’s in the eye of the beholder,” he said.
Reid also said senators shouldn’t complain that they didn’t know about the surveillance programs. “We’ve had many, many meetings that have been both classified and unclassified that members have been invited to,” he said. “If they don’t come and take advantage of this … they shouldn’t come and say, ‘I wasn’t aware of this,’ because they’ve had every opportunity to be aware of these programs.”
He dodged several questions about what should happen to Snowden or whether he supports a bipartisan bill to make the NSA surveillance program more transparent to the public. “I’m happy [to consider] any legislation that people have to offer,” he told reporters. “I’ll take a look at it. We’ll go to the committee. We’ll see.”
McConnell called on prosecutors to throw the book at Snowden.
“What’s difficult to understand,” he said, “is the motivation of someone who would intentionally seek to warn out nation’s enemies of the lawful programs created to protect the American people. And I hope that he is prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
