Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) suggested he could have been expelled from Congress if he revealed classified information — pushing back on criticism that he did not do enough to expose National Security Agency surveillance programs.
Wyden, one of the most vocal advocates for reform, said he is of more value in the Senate — a point he has made a number of times before.
{mosads}”I made the judgment, and I recognize that other people see it differently, that … with the focus that I’ve had on this, it would be valuable to have me in the room rather than outside. People can second-guess that all they want,” he told Wired.
Filmmaker Laura Poitras recently said she was profoundly let down by leaders like Wyden or another advocate, Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) for not doing more. Poitras was one of the journalists who first made contact with former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, the source of most of the intelligence revelations in the last year.
“If Wyden and Udall are so concerned, why don’t they just read the stuff out on the floor of Congress?” she asked the National Journal earlier this month. “They have immunity. Why is it that young people — why is it that a 29-year-old — has to put their life on the line to expose things that these senators also have concerns about?”
Her criticism came after Wyden’s interview published Thursday but conducted on Oct. 8.
Wyden and his staff told Wired that the chamber requires members to protect classified information, and he could have been expelled for revealing the programs.
Wyden had hinted and asked about broad collection of Americans phone records during hearings prior to the Snowden revelations, which NSA officials denied at the time.
“We only get probably half an hour a year to ask questions in public on the Intelligence Committee,” he said, adding that the U.S. is still the most open and accountable of countries.
—This post was updated at 1:45 p.m.