Officials Defenses of NSA Phone Program May Be Unraveling Washington Post (12/20/13) Miller, Greg; Nakashima, Ellen Since the National Security Agencys telephone metadata collection program was revealed earlier this year, officials have stressed that the program is both constitutional and vital to maintaining the safety of the U.S. However, in the last week, those claims have taken sharp hits that have placed President Obama under greater pressure to make a decision on whether he will support the program or dismantle it, and deal with whatever fallout occurs from his decision. U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon declared that the program was likely unconstitutional and illegal, noting that the government had failed to cite a single instance in which analysis of the NSAs bulk metadata collection actually stopped an imminent attack. In addition, a report from a White House review panel said that the information provided by the program could readily have been obtained in a timely manner using conventional [court] orders. The members of the panel met with Obama on Wednesday to present their report and give him their list of 46 recommendations, one of which would end the NSAs ability to store domestic records. The panels findings will provide support to lawmakers looking to pass legislation to end the bulk collection of phone records, while the ruling from Judge Leon has sparked a legal battle that may culminate in a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Posted on: Fri, 20 Dec 2013 21:00:19 +0000