Sen. Lindsey Graham Says He Would Support Censoring Mail If He Thought It Necessary


The recent eavesdropping scandals facing the Obama administration have brought to light, once again, the touchy subject of surveillance. Outspoken Republican Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has caused some more controversy with his comments about the measures.

In an interview with Greta Van Susteren on her show on Fox News, he stated over and over that he is not concerned about the government snooping around and monitoring private citizen’s emails and phone conversations.

He stated that in order for big brother to actually listen in on phone calls or read emails, there needs to be a Federal order issued by a judge. Which means that there has to be probably cause that there is something fishy going on at the other end of the line.

But this is not sitting well with many. The President has been feeling the heat since multiple scandals surfaced, most notably the spying on the AP and the surveillance of conservatives emails and cell phone calls.

Now the senator from South Carolina is making some more waves commenting about the possibility of having our mail censored if needed.

Speaking on the topic, Lindsey Graham said:

“If I thought censoring the mail was necessary, I would suggest it, but I don’t think it is.”

Making a comparison with the time during World War II, when things were highly scrutinized, and American people were okay with having their lives examined by the government he stated:

“In World War II, the mentality of the public was that our whole way of life was at risk, we’re all in. We censored the mail. When you wrote a letter overseas, it got censored. When a letter was written back from the battlefield to home, they looked at what was in the letter to make sure they were not tipping off the enemy.”

In reference to the Fist Amendment as it relates to the possibility of having our mail censored he added:

“The First Amendment right to speak is sacrosanct, but it has limits. We don’t need to censor the mail, but we do need to find out what the enemy’s up to.”

It is unlikely this will be the last we hear of these comments, which seem to threaten American citizen’s right to privacy, one of the most fundamental constitutional rights in this country.

Do you agree with Sen. Lindsey Graham’s point of view and would you be okay if your mail was censored?

[Image via GurganusImages / Shutterstock.com]

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