Dear Rev. Chandler,

Thank you for getting in touch with me about Congressman Amash's amendment to the House Defense Appropriations bill. I'm sorry we disagree. I'll try to explain how I see things.

Back when I was U. S. Attorney, I prosecuted 7 terrorists who lived just miles from Raleigh in Johnston County. While prosecuting those terrorists I learned how intelligence programs – like the NSA program – are a key to stopping attacks.

I also saw the potential for abuse and how there is a fine line that, if crossed, violates our Constitutional Rights.

So the question is: Which side of that line is the NSA program on?

The NSA does not listen in on telephone calls or record telephone calls (or other communications). What the NSA does do is collect records of telephone numbers – of the number called and the number called from, the duration of the call, and when it took place. And it puts those numbers in a database. There is no content involved – just a "business record" – a practice which the Supreme Court has found does not violate the Fourth Amendment.

Then when there is a terrorist attack, like the Boston Marathon bombing, law enforcement officials, in conjunction with intelligence analysts, can go to that database of this "metadata" and see who a suspected terrorist, like the older Tsarnaev brother, placed phone calls to – in order to identify other possible terrorists. This is not a simple process though – there are number of controls in place meant to filter out any data collected on American citizens and only twenty-two people at the NSA have the ability to approve a search of the data.

Then, further, if they do identify a suspect, the police or FBI must go to a federal court and a judge must issue an order authorizing a 'wiretap.' Only then can the police listen to the suspect's calls. All of these processes by the NSA are subject to oversight by Congress and approval by the federal courts. It is not a simple or easy process to get a wiretap.

I would not argue that is a perfect solution – but I would argue that it is a reasonable solution – that has saved lives.

Some folks have also pointed out while the NSA program may not be abusive right now, it may open the door for abuse in the future. That is a valid point. And if someone steps over the line in the future, even if they have the best of intentions, they have violated the law and should face the consequences.

Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts on this important issue. If you have other questions or concerns, or if I can help in some other way, please let me hear from you at your convenience.

Sincerely,

George Holding