Sends letter to President Obama expressing grave concern over new White House program to monitor speech of American citizens’ with opposing political views
Wednesday, August 5, 2009 – In a letter to President Obama, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, expressed serious concern about the White House's new program requesting Americans to forward email chains and other communications opposing the President's health care policies. Sen. Cornyn is seeking assurances that the program is being carried out in a manner consistent with the First Amendment and America's tradition of free speech and public discourse.
Sen. Cornyn's letter also inquires about the collection of names, email addresses, IP addresses, and private speech of U.S. citizens that will be reported, which raises the specter of a data collection program.
"I am not aware of any precedent for a President asking American citizens to report their fellow citizens to the White House for pure political speech that is deemed ‘fishy' or otherwise inimical to the White House's political interests," Sen. Cornyn wrote. "You should not be surprised that these actions taken by your White House staff raise the specter of a data collection program. As Congress debates health care reform and other critical policy matters, citizen engagement must not be chilled by fear of government monitoring the exercise of free speech rights."
--The full text of Sen. Cornyn's letter is HERE--
--The full text of Sen. Cornyn's letter is HERE--
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