16-Year-Old Grills Pelosi Over NSA

A 16-year-old student, Andrew Demeter, grilled house minority leader Nancy Pelosi over her support of spying programs conducted by the NSA.

The teenager won a documentary contest sponsored by C-Span. This provided him with the opportunity to meet some of the top lawmakers in Washington.

Demeter asked Pelosi why she voted in favor of continuing the collection of metadata from Americans. The lawmaker stated her belief in the “good things” the National Security Agency does in the course of operations.

The 74-year-old did say she has reservations about the widespread collection of metadata by the spy agency. She claimed the Bush Administration went too far, although the most extensive spying was conducted under President Obama.

She also defended her votes in favor of continued funding for the National Security Agency.

Recently, Michigan Congressman Justin Amash introduced a bill in the house which would have ended funding for the program. In the interview, Pelosi states she does not believe cutting off funding is appropriate.

Demeter was originally scheduled to meet Senator Harry Reid and House speaker John Boehner, but his meet-and-greet was changed to an encounter with Pelosi. That was not what the 16-year-old found most troubling about his visit.

Demeter noted, “You have to remove your belt, shoes, and jacket before entering the Capitol because you’re supposedly a criminal; guilty until proven innocent. Truth be told, the real criminals conspire against the American public from inside the Capitol itself.”

Since June 2nd, when the video first appeared on YouTube, Demeter’s video has been viewed over 427,000 times. The young man has been invited to speak on Fox News and other media outlets.