2027488001 for republicans. You can send an email to journal cspan. Org. All front pages have essentially the same lead story. Court calls nsa data sweep illegal. There is the l. A. Times, the new york times. Nsa collection of bulk call data is ruled illegal. In the Washington Times lead editorial big brother takes a hit. Senator Mitch Mcconnell has made it clear to his colleagues that he wants the usa patriot act including the parts of the legislation scheduled to expire at the end of june, fully extended. He seems ready to do whatever he can to get his way. The usa patriot act was enacted in the days following 9 11 when the nation trembled on the verge of panic, with little debate and little opposition in congress the usa freedom act would modify the patriot act. The freedom act is expected to pass in the house the attorney general Loretta Lynch was asked about it in testimony yesterday. Lynch section 215 has been a vital tool in our National Security arsenal, but the department has been operating under the new directive by the president with a view towards modifying the program to keep its efficacy but preserve privacy interests. I am not aware at this time of any violations that have come to light. I will certainly seek a briefing on that. And should i learn of any, i would advise the committee of that. If my knowledge changes on that, but as of now, i have not been informed of any violation under the new policy. With respect to the decision from the second circuit, my own circuit, this morning we are reviewing that decision. But given the time issues involving the expiration of it we are also and have been working with this body and others to look for ways to reauthorize section 215 in a way that does preservice efficacy and protect privacy. Host attorney general lynch also talked about this issue. Here is the Washington Post. U. S. To open probe of baltimore police. Attorney general Loretta Lynch has decided to launch a federal investigation as to whether a Police Department has engaged in a pattern of Excessive Force 202 is the area code if you want to dial in and talk about a Public Policy issue. 7488002 for independents. From Washington Times, u. S. Training syrians for Islamic State ground five. Ashton carter announced thursday that the u. S. Is beginning to train a group of moderate rebels to fight the Islamic State in syria and acknowledged u. S. Assets would support this troops in battle against the terrorist group. Well he also talks about the issue of federal troops in texas. Heres the defense secretary. Secretary carter the United States military could the Civil Liberties of the people of texas. Secretary carter why dont i just take that on your second question, we have given information to authorities in texas. Any information they have requested. We were very open and upfront about our training activities in the United States. And i should say that were very grateful for the support of communities around the United States in all of our training facilities. We count upon peoples, the support of americans in our training areas and around our training areas and around our bases and are very grateful for the hospitality we receive. Reporter would you refute his concerns that this could be an issue . Would you refute the concerns of those on the internet who believed otherwise . Secretary carter we are very responsive to any local officials who want to know about our training. We are very transparent. We have tried to be transparent in this case. And answer all questions, give all information about what we are doing about the need for it. And once again, i want to express appreciation we have to communities across the country who host our troops. It is very important. Host lets take some calls. Lets begin with shawn in lakeland, florida, our independent line. What is the issue on your mind this morning . Caller my Public Policy issue really is a question. You have the patriot act now. Now they are coming back saying this was a mistake. So my question really is how often has this happened and not been brought to the attention of the people . The one specific incident that comes to mind, the socalled war on drugs. I think this is probably the most laughable thing that has ever gone on in the United States history. You look at prisons, as an example. A prisoner should be the most a prisons should be the most secure spot in the United States, more secure than any border. The drugs are in prisons. Common sense. Drugs are imprison are in prison. How do you think you will stop took some getting in the United States itself . Host is there a solution . Caller honestly, there are a lot of countries in the world and none of them have the drug problems the United States has. I think the major problem with all the stuff that is going on in baltimore, all the stuff going on in ferguson the police whole issue with minorities and people of color. All of this is really a symptom of the drug war. You know, people alike this massive incarceration started 30 years ago host is that legalization in your view . Caller i would not say so much legalization, but i mean, this is the land of the free. You are supposed to be able to live your life how you want to. If someone wants to live their life and do drugs their whole life, let them. You know what im saying . Lcoocking them up is not helping them. Host thanks for calling in this morning. From politico, pressure builds on gop for police and criminal justice reform. Pressure is mounting on republican congressional leaders to take up criminal justice and Police Reform legislation and the calls are increasingly coming from within the gop. To set up a new committee on the issue. Tim scott is pushing for more body cameras that is a little bit from the political article. Eugene in ohio. Good morning to you. Caller thanks for taking my call. The biggest thing on my mind right now is the patriot act. Basically, it was enacted should have never been thought of. Should have never been past. And i think a lot of the folks that are upset that should be in abject lesson an abject lesson an object lesson. When ever you have power in one branch of government, you got rest assured that to think it happened. You are not getting those powers back. Thanks for taking my call. Host clifton, miami, democrat, or independent, hi. Caller hello, sir. I am nervous. This is my first time calling. Thank you, my good friend. I will say this. There are a lot of people getting killed in baltimore. Im looking it up. Another thing is that in baltimore is that there is a lot of riots. I was hoping if you guys would do another look upon the situation where host clifton, we got part of your idea in the idea of investigating a little bit more in baltimore is probably a good one. Jim in spartanburg, South Carolina, independent line. Jim what is on my mind this week is how for the last four years, harry reid has been damone what the Koch Brothers are doing and their ramifications harry reid has been in moaning what the been bemoaning what the Koch Brothers have been doing, when hillary behind the scenes has been making money from giving and granting powers and authority and granting to the network she uses to get more in her political coffer, not political coffer but your fundraising and other things. It is amazing that he thinks the Koch Brothers but he does not raise an objection one moment about what Hillary Clinton is doing. Host from hill this morning clinton breaks silence. She sent out a tweet saying that congress should move ahead with the usa freedom act, a step forward and ongoing efforts to protect our security and Civil Liberties. And an opposing article or another article on that topic Mitch Mcconnell and gop defend the nsa. Mitch mcconnell and other Top Republicans defended the National Security agencys Surveillance Program as vital to protecting National Security. Other republicans starkly criticize legislation that would effectively end the nsas bulk phone records collection program. It will neither keep a safe or protect our privacy, the Kentucky Republican said of the usa freedom act. Mitch mcconnell tees up the teradrade war. Mitch mcconnell is coring calling harry reids flbluff. The Senate Majority challenged reid to make good on a plan to Block Movement on trade until the senate has a strategy for highway funding. One more thin g on the trade bill. Only two republicans admit they actually read secret obama trade deal both a supportive. Unsupportive. With the first votes on the trade trade Promotion Authority days away, it is looking like Mitch Mcconnell excepts americans to accept Nancy Pelosis obamacare logic for the trade deal you have to pass it to find out what senate. Whats in it. if you want to learn the details of the tpp trade deal the obama in ministration is open to pass, you have got to be a member of congress and you have got to go to briefings and leave your staff and cell phone at the door, according to politico who wrote that earlier this morning. Jim is in spartanburg. Jim . Jim how are you . I hope youre having a good day. Host i hope you are, too. Jim i just wanted to say i appreciate all you do for cspan. I think it is an excellent group, and everything you do is wellfunded. You guys do a great job. Host thats it . Jim yes, thank you very much. Host otony, georgia, republicans are you are on washington journal. Are you with us . Tony yes. I think the biggest story is this irs thing where they doled out all this money to host guess what . You have got to turn down the volume on your tv. Listen to your telephone. Otherwise you get the delay and that brings the program to a halt. We will move on to rick in bradenton, florida, democrat. We are listening. Rick good morning sir the reason i am calling this morning is. Ethics that seems to be in politics right now that it seems to be completely out of control now. When you have people like down here in florida that we arent even allowed to say the word Global Warming or sea levels changes or anything like that. They just stick their head in the sand and hope for the best before they get out of office or you have another Benghazi Committee that is spending millions and millions of our tax dollars to investigate nothing. It is purely a political move. We have politicians down in texas that literally have people convinced that we are they are being invaded by the u. S. Army. I just want to know where did the common sense go . There does not seem to be any ethics whatsoever anymore in, at least the republican side of politics. I was born and raised a republican and the last time that i voted republican was ronald reagan. And to be honest with you, i was sorry i did that. But until the common sense has a viable voice over big money and they just literally ignore facts that are blocking the slapping them in the face, i do not believe we are ever going to get anywhere and were due to take a full. Host thank you rick in bradenton. Up next is howard in miami. Hi howard. Howard good morning. I have two poinstts. The first is the moral and ethical bankruptcy of jeb bush. Obviously running for president. Still having not declared so that he can raise funds in excess of what otherwise would be the Applicable Research and on doing so. Restriction on doing so. Coupled with the complicity of the media in failing to ask him and bring this to the attention of the public that he used continuing to do this. I think it raises questions for the public about how jeb bush can be trusted if he is willing to do so, things like that. The second point i have is that there are now 15 or 18 republican candidates for presidency, and in one form or another. And they are all going to be slamming, criticizing, slandering demeaning Hillary Clinton in the same fashion barack obama has been pilloried since he was elected. And whether or not the media is going to be repeat everything to one of the slurs without challenging or editing them. Many of these things do not deserve to be repeated, but the media takes. Notes and repeats what these people say the question is is that going to be continuing, or is the media exercising journalistic integrity and filter out these things . I will listen to your response. Host political this morning. Poll jeb bush leads gop pack in New Hampshire. He has 15 of the bow. Marco rubio 12 . Scott walker, rand paul 11 and 10 . That is a new poll. Here is another new poll from wmur, Granite State poll, showing jeb bush leading Hillary Clinton in New Hampshire 47 to 41. And rand paul and marco rubio also lead Hillary Clinton in that state. In chicago, democrat. You are on washington journal. Sarah i want to say how much i love washington journal. It is my favorite reality tv show. Host thank you for watching. Sarah that is not hyperbole. The thing i dislike the most is what i do not understand we have had 25 years of nafta the north American Free trade agreement, and it has decimated manufacturing and good jobs good middleclass jobs. So i do not understand what the president is doing with the tpp pushing the Transpacific Partnership your he claims this will be an improvement over nafta, and it will have enforceable standards, and that is why he is pushing it. He was to have enforceable standards that other countries around the world will have to enforce and live up to the u. S. Standard of food safety and our labor laws and environmental laws. The thing i do not understand the most is we do not even have the political will in this country to enforce our own environmental standards, our own food safety and drug safety standards, to say nothing of our labor laws labor safety, labor standards. How would , how does he expect us to believe that the tpp will have enforceable standards for other countries that we would enforce standards in other countries when we do not even do it here . Host what do you do in chicago . Sarah im a consultant. I have a background in software and Management Consulting. I set in office all day, but i live in the rust belt. Illinois is in the rust belt. We have taken a hit over the last 25 years from nafta. It has just got it manufacturing jobs. Host thanks for watching. Up next is puaul in pompano beach, florida, republican line. Paul good morning. Thanks along with everyone else, for presenting such clear information to us all. One thing i was aware of, peter was it seems to be an unreported story that Vladimir Putin is the richest man in the world. That was reported by cnbc a few weeks ago. A casual manner about reporting who the richest people were. I might ask you can to her that . Peter first time i am hearing it is from you. Paul he said with the russian mafia he is worth 300 billion which puts president obamas strategy in a good light because if hes costing him 100 billion of that 300 billion, it is a great strategy. The scary part is that makes p utin more like a strong man and a dictator than a person with the interest of russia in his deep heart. I just thought i had mentioned that. Maybe i am alerting other people to the idea of truth that is underreported. Host our producer found this article in the new york post. Putin could be worlds richest man with stolen 200 billion fortune. There is your story, paul. Paul maybe you can get it out there. Peter just did. Thank you for that. Richard, independent line. What is on your mind this morning . Richard about the patriot act. That was one of the worst acts they ever put in. It really bothered me. Some intelligence agencies we have 16 of them or something. People in business you walk down the street, theres cameras on the stoplight, cameras on the stores. I feel like im walking in a photoshop. It gets me aggravated because they use an excuse to go after anybody they want to go after, and then when people come after us they are bad people. When they do it, we are good people. There are two sides of the coin. Peter do you remember how you felt about the patriot act in 2000 along1 after 9 11 . Richeard we knew about 9 11, just like we knew about pearl harbor. It is a sad thing to say but our government is one of the worst killing governments in the world. I hate to say that, but that is my personal opinion. But it appreciate your letting me talk. You all have a good day. Peteer speaking of world war ii, today is ve day. A World War Ii Air parade is going to fly over the National Mall today, right behind us here. And you will be able to see that on cspan. A lot of the old bombers and planes will be flying up and down the National Mall over the world were to memorial the world war ii memorial, where there will be a presentation as well. Our live coverage of world war ii victory in europe 70th anniversary begins at 10 30 a. M. The president spoke about ve day recently. President obama today we pay to