Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Federal Government should drop all charges against Edward Snowden.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. RES. 1162 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Federal Government should drop all charges against Edward Snowden. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 30, 2020 Ms. GABBARD (for herself and Mr. GAETZ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con- cerned RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Federal Government should drop all charges against Edward Snowden. Whereas, during a Senate hearing on March 12, 2013, James Clapper, then-Director of National Intelligence, was ques- tioned by Senator Ron Wyden, and was asked whether the National Security Agency ‘‘collect[ed] any type of data at all on millions, or hundreds of millions of Ameri- cans’’, to which Clapper replied ‘‘No, sir’’, and added ‘‘not wittingly’’, a response he later admitted was ‘‘clearly erroneous’’; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Oct 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1162.IH HR1162 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 1162 IH Whereas, in June 2013, Edward Snowden disclosed to a se- lective group of journalists National Security Agency doc- uments exposing that bulk collection of Americans’ tele- phone records from telecommunications providers by the intelligence community was occurring; Whereas, on June 21, 2013, the Department of Justice un- sealed charges against Edward Snowden for violating sec- tions 793(d) and 798(a)(3) of the Espionage Act and theft of government property under section 641 of title 18, United States Code; Whereas, on January 23, 2014, the Privacy and Civil Lib- erties Oversight Board’s report on the National Security Agency’s telephone records program found ‘‘no instance in which the program directly contributed to the dis- covery of a previously unknown terrorist plot or the dis- ruption of a terrorist attack’’ and that the program sig- nificantly threatened and violated the constitutional rights of the American people; Whereas, on May 7, 2015, the United States Court of Ap- peals for the Second Circuit ruled that section 215 of the Patriot Act did not authorize the bulk collection of tele- phone records and therefore such collection was unlawful; Whereas, on September 2, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled the National Security Agency’s telephone records bulk collection program illegal and possibly unconstitutional under the Fourth Amend- ment; Whereas the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found the telephone records bulk collection pro- gram did not play a pivotal role in any terrorism inves- tigations; VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Oct 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1162.IH HR1162 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 1162 IH Whereas those involved in the collection of Americans’ tele- phone records have yet to be held accountable for their illegal actions, further increasing the danger of continued government overreach and abuse of civil liberties; and Whereas the United States Government must protect whistle- blowers who expose illegal and unconstitutional acts of abuse within our government: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep- 1 resentatives that— 2 (1) the National Security Agency’s bulk collec- 3 tion telephone records program was illegal and un- 4 constitutional; 5 (2) Edward Snowden’s disclosure of this pro- 6 gram to journalists was in the public interest; and 7 (3) the Federal Government should drop all 8 charges against Edward Snowden. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:32 Oct 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR1162.IH HR1162 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS