In her first interview since being sworn in as United States Attorney General, Loretta Lynch told CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell that she has serious concerns that the U.S. might become less safe if a key section of the Patriot Act that is set to expire on June 1 is not renewed by Congress.

“My biggest fear,” Lynch told O’Donnell, “is that we will lose important eyes on people who have made it clear that their mission is to harm American people here and abroad.”

When asked if losing the ability to track the electronic communications of terrorists would endanger Americans, Lynch told CBS, “I think that we run the risk of essentially being less safe. I think that we lose important tools. I think that we lose the ability to intercept these communications, which have proven very important in cases that we have built in the past. I am very concerned that the American people will be unprotected if this law expires.”

The wide-ranging interview covered a number of topics, including Lynch’s upbringing and her road to becoming the first African-American woman to serve as U.S. Attorney General, her own experiences with racism, the state of race relations in America under President Obama, and how a change in tone may be key to strengthening community bonds across the nation.

Excerpts of the interview will be broadcast tonight on CBS EVENING NEWS WITH SCOTT PELLEY (6:30-7:00 PM) and tomorrow, May 22, on CBS THIS MORNING (7:00-9:00 AM).

Chris Licht is the Vice President of Programming, CBS News, and Executive Producer of CBS THIS MORNING.

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