Nancy Pelosi Driving Force Behind Saving the NSA Spying Program

By: DSWright Friday July 26, 2013 7:55 am

It was kind of odd to see the Democratic Party Leadership vote to spy on Americans given the party’s alleged commitment to civil liberties. Now it is reported that not only did the Democratic Leadership vote against the bill but that Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was the driving force behind saving the NSA spying program.

The obituary of Rep. Justin Amash’s amendment to claw back the sweeping powers of the National Security Agency has largely been written as a victory for the White House and NSA chief Keith Alexander, who lobbied the Hill aggressively in the days and hours ahead of Wednesday’s shockingly close vote. But Hill sources say most of the credit for the amendment’s defeat goes to someone else: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. It’s an odd turn, considering that Pelosi has been, on many occasions, a vocal surveillance critic.