National intelligence chief declassifies Bush-era documents on NSA programs [View all]
Source: Associated Press
The director of national intelligence is declassifying more documents that show how the National Security Agency was first authorised to start collecting bulk phone and internet records in the hunt for al-Qaida terrorists.
James Clapper explained in a statement Saturday that President George W Bush first authorised the spying as part of the Terrorist Surveillance Program, just after 9/11.
Bush's presidential authorisation eventually was replaced by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act – a law that requires a secret court to OK the spying.
The disclosures are part of the White House's campaign to justify the NSA surveillance, after leaks to the media by former agency contractor Edward Snowden.
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/21/national-intelligence-bush-era-nsa-documents
= new reply since forum marked as read