Franken calls for more transparency for FISA court

Minnesota U.S. Sen. Al Franken says he's co-sponsoring legislation to make secret government surveillance more transparent.

Franken told MPR's Cathy Wurzer on Morning Edition he would like to see the federal government release court orders issued under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). He said they can be redacted to protect national security, while but let Americans see for themselves what the government is doing.

"I want people to see the reasoning of the FISA court. And I want to see those opinions, and I want the American people to see those opinions, so the American people aren't relying on the government to say 'Oh, don't worry, we're respecting your right to privacy,' " Franken said.

The orders have been the focus of controversy since a contractor leaked an order detailing phone surveillance by the government. They show the National Security Agency may be collecting data on millions of Americans without their knowledge.

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