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The Hill
National security and politics reporter for The Hill
PROFILE
Julian Hattem
Guest
FROM Julian Hattem
To the Point
Down to the Wire on the Patriot Act The Senate meets this week in rare recess negotiations about whether to extend controversial provisions of the Patriot Act, including the NSA's bulk phone records collection program. That program, launched after 9/11, is due to expire June 1 if the Senate doesn't come to a consensus on how much and what kind of surveillance best serves the nation. Earlier this month the House voted overwhelmingly in favor of legislation which would reauthorize the Patriot Act while at the same time ending the NSA's bulk collection of phone records. The House also approved certain reforms intended to make the agency's programs more transparent. Will Congress go the way of a recent federal court ruling that called NSA surveillance overly broad and in violation of American's rights to privacy? If the NSA's broad surveillance programs lapse, will the nation be less secure?
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To the Point
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
To the Point
Ex-FBI Director Comey tells his side of the story Today, former FBI Director James Comey came close to calling the President who fired him a liar. The White House denied the claim and called it insulting, but Republican Senators did not challenge Comey’s truthfulness. Many questions remain: did the President try to obstruct a federal investigation? Later, we’ll go behind the “velvet rope” for a look at 5-Star health care for the richest Americans.
To the Point
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.