Ron Wyden Has Battled the Feds Over Surveillance for Years. He Says Trump’s Release of FBI Memo Was a Mistake

For years, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has battled the country's national security officials over what he's viewed as excessive use of warrantless wiretapping and other intelligence gathering methods.

The state's often cautious senior senator has been outspoken on the need to balance civil liberties with the government's need to gather information.

But this past week, Wyden took to Twitter to protest what he viewed as House Republicans' and President Donald Trump's hypocritical and politically motivated attack on the FBI's approach to obtaining a warrant to conduct surveillance on Trump associate Carter Page, whom the FBI investigated for his ties to Russians.

As a member of the Intelligence Committee, Wyden is often privy to government secrets about which he has in the past express discomfort. He suggested this week that the release of the FBI memo should make other classified materials fair game.

And when Trump did release the memo, prepared by U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), Wyden on Feb. 2 reacted with outrage.

For people who can't get enough of the memo controversy, the New York Times provides a useful explanation of what it all means here.

Ron Wyden Has Battled the Feds Over Surveillance for Years. He Says Trump’s Release of FBI Memo Was a Mistake

Oregon's senior senator, a longtime member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, now wants other classified materials.