As I hoped, the ACLU has filed a FOIA request about the “secret” interpretation of the PATRIOT Act that Senators Wyden and Udall referred to during the renewal debate in Congress:
In the days before last week’s Patriot Act reauthorization vote, members of the Senate Intelligence Committee raised concerns — see here and here — about the way that the Justice Department has interpreted and used the Patriot Act’s Section 215, which is perhaps the most controversial of the provisions that Congress reauthorized. “When the American people find out how their government has secretly interpreted the Patriot Act,” Colorado Senator Mark Udall said, “they will be stunned and they will be angry.”
Today we filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request demanding that the Justice Department release information about the government’s use and interpretation of Section 215. We anticipate litigating the request.
Read more on ACLU’s Blog.