Civil Rights
Oregon Democrats Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici wrote to Chad Wolf, the embattled acting DHS secretary, Thursday. The letter asked four questions based on a report by The Nation's Ken Klippenstein alleging DHS and potentially other federal agencies tapped Portland protesters' phones.
"Congress has enacted strict legal protections which require government agencies to obtain the approval of an independent judge before searching Americans' devices and surveilling their communications," states the September 25 letter, signed by US Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, as well as US Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici.
Senator Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said the Trump administration is trying to bully those who don't agree with his police tactics.
"Trump may admire dictators like Putin and Duterte, but there is no place for that behavior in Portland, in Oregon, or in the United States of America," said Merkley.
U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Beaverton, and the only woman in Oregon's congressional delegation, issued a statement Friday evening: