(Hill) Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg (D) on Thursday defended surveillance of U.S. Muslims conducted by authorities after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, calling it a necessary response.
In an interview with PBS Newshour‘s Judy Woodruff, the 2020 presidential candidate explained that the decision was made at a time when Americans were “petrified” of the possibility of another terrorist attack on U.S. soil.
“We were very careful, and the authorities that looked at us said, ‘yes, you complied with the law,'” Bloomberg said. “But we had every intention of going every place we could, legally, to get as much information to protect this country.”
“We had just lost 3,000 people at 9/11 — of course we’re supposed to do that,” the former mayor added.
