Attorney General Loretta Lynch defended U.S. surveillance programs today and said America could be “less safe” if the PATRIOT Act––specifically the provision that allows for the collection of phone metadata––expires.
Lynch spoke with CBS’ Noran O’Donnell in her first televised interview as attorney general, and reacted to various members of Congress this week taking a stand against bulk collection, including filibuster leader Rand Paul.
Lynch said people would be more accepting if they had a better understanding of “what we do with that data.” And if the provision expires, she said, “we lose important eyes on people who have made it clear that their mission is to harm American people here and abroad.”
She even went so far as to say not extending that provision means “we run the risk of essentially being less safe.”
Watch the video below, via CBS:
[image via screengrab]
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