PAGE SEVEN
CORNYN CHALLENGES OBAMA ON SNITCHING
Aug. 10, 2009 – In a letter to President Obama, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has demanded some answers to
questions arising from the White House’s request that citizens report “fishy” e-mails; private, unpublished
writings’ even casual conversation concerning the President’s health care proposals.
In the letter, the Texas senator Texas asks the President:
● How do you intend to use the names, email addresses, IP addresses, and identities of citizens who are
reported to have engaged in "fishy" speech?
● How do you intend to notify citizens who have been reported for "fishy" speech?
● What action do you intend to take against citizens who have been reported for engaging in “fishy” speech?
● Do your own past statements qualify as “disinformation”? For example, is it “disinformation:” to note that
in 2003 you said: “I happen to be proponent of a single-payer universal health care plan”?
Aug. 10, 2009 – In a letter to President Obama, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has demanded some answers to
questions arising from the White House’s request that citizens report “fishy” e-mails; private, unpublished
writings’ even casual conversation concerning the President’s health care proposals.
In the letter, the Texas senator Texas asks the President:
● How do you intend to use the names, email addresses, IP addresses, and identities of citizens who are
reported to have engaged in "fishy" speech?
● How do you intend to notify citizens who have been reported for "fishy" speech?
● What action do you intend to take against citizens who have been reported for engaging in “fishy” speech?
● Do your own past statements qualify as “disinformation”? For example, is it “disinformation:” to note that
in 2003 you said: “I happen to be proponent of a single-payer universal health care plan”?
CORNYN
“I am not aware,” Cornyn said, “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.
He urged the President to end the program “immediately,” or, failing that,
“detail to Congress and the public the protocols that your White House is
following to purge the names, email addresses, IP addresses, and identities
of citizens who are reported to have engaged in "fishy" speech. He noted
that the program raises 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,” Cornyn said.
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.
He urged the President to end the program “immediately,” or, failing that,
“detail to Congress and the public the protocols that your White House is
following to purge the names, email addresses, IP addresses, and identities
of citizens who are reported to have engaged in "fishy" speech. He noted
that the program raises 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,” Cornyn said.