Steven Holt: “this tonight is about how our government treats its people. One of the characteristics of oppressive governments that we…”

“this tonight is about how our government treats its people. One of the characteristics of oppressive governments that we detest throughout history is that they spy on their own people. The chilling intrusion into people's lives, effects, and relationships must be controlled even if the government officers think that the intrusion is necessary to preserve safety, security and order. Indeed, civil protections are necessary, especially if the government says they are trying to protect safety, security and order. Courts must establish that there is a probable cause to believe an American is a threat to society, and it must be the courts, not the Attorney General, not the Director of National Intelligence, who determine that the standard is being met. Let me correct some points. There is not a huge gap. FISA is not broken. Do not believe these scare tactics. Legislation should not be passed to respond to fear-mongering. Of course, we need good intelligence to protect Americans, but we are being asked to enter a 'just trust us' form of legislation. Just trust an Attorney General who has provided demonstrably false or misleading testimony before Congress on this very issue.”