Spy court judge slams proposed privacy advocate
By STEPHEN BRAUN and KIMBERLY DOZIER, Associated Press
Jan 14, 2014 1:59 PM CST
FILE - This June 6, 2013 file photo shows the sign outside the National Security Agency campus in Fort Meade, Md. Telephone companies are quietly balking at the idea of changing how they collect and store Americans’ phone records to help the NSA’s surveillance programs. They’re worried about their exposure...   (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The former chief judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court is slamming the idea of having a privacy advocate on the secret court. He says it's unnecessary and possibly counterproductive.

A presidential advisory panel on National Security Agency reform recommended adding such an advocate. FISA court judges now hear only from the government seeking a spying warrant.

In a letter to the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday, U.S. District Judge John D. Bates says appointing an independent privacy advocate to the secret surveillance court would "hamper" the court's work.

Bates also rejected the panel's recommendation that the government seek court approval every time the FBI wanted to obtain information in cases of national security, known as a national security letter.