The U.S. intelligence agencies are vested with tremendous powers to collect information at home and abroad, on citizens and non-citizens, but subject to extensive oversight by all three branches of government. Does that system of oversight provide appropriate checks and balances? What lessons have been learned in the years since 9/11 and since the Snowden leaks? What steps might Congress take later this year when faced with the reauthorization of the so-called PRISM and upstream programs? Jim Dempsey served as a Senate-confirmed member of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board from 2012 to January 2017, including the tumultuous immediate aftermath of the Snowden leaks. Prior to that he was a long-time civil liberties advocate with the non-profit Center for Democracy & Technology. Earlier in his career, as a staff attorney for the House Judiciary Committee, he was responsible for oversight of the FBI.

Lunch will be served. Please RSVP so we order enough food.