Wednesday night on All In with Chris Hayes: The National Security Agency is front and center again with another revelation about its spying programs from leaker Edward Snowden. The Guardian reported Wednesday, based on Snowden’s information, that the agency can search through citizens’ e-mails, browsing history and online chats without prior authorization. Surveillance also trumped privacy concerns in a major appeals court decision Tuesday that ruled the government does not need a warrant to collect cell phone location records. The debate continued in Washington Wednesday, where the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on surveillance programs approved by the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Chairman Patrick Leahy and several other senators questioned Justice Department and security officials about their failure to prevent Edward Snowden’s leaks as well as the specifics of the surveillance programs. Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, a member of the Judiciary Committee who participated in Wednesday’s hearing, and Guardian Columnist on civil liberties and U.S. national security issues Glenn Greenwald, who has published the Snowden leaks, will join Chris Hayes to discuss the latest developments.
Plus: The Los Angeles Police Commission has approved a new program which will use mediation to work through claims of racial profiling against its police force. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will join Chris Hayes to talk about the program’s chances of making progress on this tough issue.
Later, Chris Hayes will delve into Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s so-called “witch hunt” against climate scientists. Cuccinelli’s opponent for governor, Terry McAuliffe, recently released an attack ad describing the Attorney General’s relentless investigation into a then-University of Virginia scientist’s research, which cost the university over half a million dollars in legal fees. Dr. Michael Mann, the subject of Cuccinelli’s crusade and now Director of the Penn State Earth System Science Center, will join the conversation to talk about the candidate’s smear campaign against his work.
The divisive battle within the Republican Party barreled along on Wednesday, with three prominent members of the ultraconservative wing–Senators Ted Cruz, Mike Lee and Rand Paul–speaking at the libertarian Young Americans for Liberty National Convention. Meanwhile, on the other end of the GOP spectrum, Senator John McCain gave an interview to the liberal New Republic. The Senator criticized Fox News and said it would be a ‘tough choice’ between Hillary Clinton and Rand Paul for 2016. Robert George, editorial writer for the New York Post and former Newt Gingrich staffer, Josh Barro, Politics Editor at Business Insider, and Tim Carney, Senior Political Columnist at The Washington Examiner and Visiting Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, will join the conversation about the GOP’s internal split.
Rachel Simon
Rachel Simon is a writer and editor based in Raleigh, North Carolina. She is the author of “Pickleball for All: Everything but the ‘Kitchen’ Sink.” Her work has been published in The New York Times, Glamour, Vulture, Teen Vogue and more. You can find her at @rsimon113. Recommended
