U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., this week said the case of a retired Kansas University professor’s tampered mail might spark a fresh look at national security laws.

Grant Goodman was the subject of a December Journal-World story after he discovered that a letter from a friend in the Philippines had been opened by the Department of Homeland Security. In recent weeks, the story has been covered by national media outlets, including MSNBC, Reuters and The Associated Press.

Brownback, in an interview with 6News, said the law allows inspection of mail from overseas.

“But I think we ought to look at that afresh and see if that constitutional right, that executive privilege exists,” Brownback said. “Normally, it’s done after a subpoena is secured. In some recent cases it’s been done without a subpoena, but it’s been claimed to be under the executive privilege. I think we need to look at that thoroughly and see if it exists because we want to safeguard people’s privacy.”

Goodman told AP he received a new letter from his friend this week. It appeared to be unopened.