Wyden reacts to Obama Press Conference

President Obama talked about his proposals for reforming oversight in a press conference on Friday, Aug 9 2013.  He made a few proposals, but Ron Wyden didn't think he went far enough.

Democratic senator Ron Wyden, a leading critic of the NSA's bulk surveillance powers in the Senate, welcomed Obama's proposals, but called for greater detail. "Notably absent from President Obama's speech was any mention of closing the backdoor searches loophole that potentially allows for the warrantless searches of Americans' phone calls and emails under section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act," Wyden said.
The senator was referring to a disclosure in the Guardian based on a top-secret document which indicates the NSA has a secret backdoor into its databases under a legal authority enabling it to search for US citizens' email and phone calls without a warrant.
The document, published on Friday three hours before Obama's announcement, contrasts with assurances that president and senior intelligence officials have previously given that the privacy of US citizens is protected from dragnet surveillance programs targeted at foreigners. "I believe that this provision requires significant reforms as well and I will continue to fight to close that loophole," Wyden said.