Colin Kalmbacher
LawandCrime.com
October 11, 2018
Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Wray declined to answer a question as to whether the FBI or the National Security Agency is currently collecting the phone conversations of President Donald Trump.
Today I questioned FBI Director Wray on the domestic spying and government abuse of our data. The concern of us who want more control over what the government can do with our data is because as Madison said men are not angels. That’s why we have the Constitution. pic.twitter.com/nOmqoPp62J
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) October 10, 2018
The question was posed by Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) during a Senate committee hearing on national security issues. The Kentucky Senator asked, “Do you think that it’s possible that the president’s conversations with international leaders are in the [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] database?”
To which Wray replied, “I’m not sure there’s anything I could speak to in this setting.” Just after the hearing, Paul tweeted about the interaction:
🚨 The FBI Director just testified in the US Senate. I asked him if @realDonaldTrump phone conversations are getting collected in the FISA database. He wouldn’t answer. Is NSA or FBI listening in on our President? We know bad actors exist within intel community. REFORM NEEDED NOW
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) October 10, 2018
Paul continued his line of inquiry:
It’s been reported in the Washington Post about two years ago there were 1,500 times when the president–this is when Obama was president–was minimized meaning that, yes, you are gathering up so much information–you, the NSA, the intelligence community–that actually the president’s conversations are caught up in there. Do you think it’s possible that Congress–that members of Congress are in the FISA database if we talk to international leaders?
Wray…