ProPublica, one of the best news sites on the web, has
compiled a list of four areas where President Obama has not been truthful while
defending the NSA spying program.
As the president deals with a backlash from Capitol Hill
Republicans over his new plan to revise and soften surveillance protocol,
he still has not addressed his defenses of the program that were based on false
or fuzzy information.
Here is ProPublica’s take, heavily edited (by me) for space,
on the misleading assertions by Obama:
1. There have been no abuses.
In 2011, the FISA Court
found that for three years, the NSA had been collecting
tens of thousands of domestic emails and other communications in
violation of the Fourth
Amendment. The court ordered the NSA
to do more to filter out those communications. In a footnote, Judge John D.
Bates also chastised the NSA for repeatedly
misleading the court about the extent of its surveillance.
2. At least 50 terrorist
threats have been averted.
The record is far less
clear. Obama’s own review
group concluded that the sweeping phone records collection program has
not prevented any terrorist attacks.
3. The NSA does not do any
domestic spying.
And, as the FISA Court learned in 2011, the NSA was gathering tens of thousands of
domestic emails and other communications. Additionally, the NSA’s
minimization procedures, which are supposed to protect American privacy, allow
the agency to keep and use purely domestic
communications in some circumstances.
4. Edward Snowden failed to
take advantage of whistleblower protections.
Obama’s presidential policy directive forbids
agencies from retaliating against intelligence personnel who report waste,
fraud and abuse. But the measure mentions only “employees,” not
contractors. Whistleblower advocates
say that means the order does not cover intelligence contractors.