Justice Dept. - Obama truth 'could cause grave damage to national security'

Two Senate Democrats have a serious warning for their colleagues. According to Ron Wyden of Oregon and Mark Udall of Colorado, a top-secret intelligence operation is underway and is based on secret legal interpretation of Section 215 of the Patriot Act. Worse, the operation is in no way critical to national security, but it is an genuine threat to democracy.

WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - The senators are blaming the executive branch's overbroad interpretation of the Patriot Act. They made their comments in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder. The program itself, and what is actually going on remains a close-guarded secret.

Last month a Justice Department official told a judge that disclosing the program to the public "could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security of the United States."

The Justice Department maintains that discussing its interpretation of the Patriot Act could tip off potential adversaries as to how the government collects intelligence. The Department is fighting two related lawsuits, both brought under the Freedom of Information Act, one by the New York Times and the other the American Civil Liberties Union.

The paramount question is if the security of the nation is better served by transparency in this case, or by keeping mum. Unfortunately, it's impossible for an individual to answer this question without knowledge of how the Justice Department is interpreting the Patriot Act or how that interpretation is actually being applied. Should the people simply trust the government in this case?

The senators think not. They wrote that there certainly were cases where it is appropriate to keep such operations secret, but that in this case the government has an "obligation to be transparent with the public." 

The senators referred to an actual, but unnamed "intelligence collection operation" in their letter. 

While it remains unclear what the government is doing and why, it appears to be significant, particularly if fellow Democrats are willing to break ranks with President Obama and criticize his administration for something they feel is a direct threat to democracy. 

The senators added that the government must act within the scope of publicly understood law, and not secret interpretations. This is so that voters "can ratify or object decisions made on their behalf." 

Apparently, the current administration is telling voters they do not have this right. 

The outcomes of the Freedom of Information Act cases remains to be seen, but the resistance from the Justice Department does not portend good news for democracy.

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