N.S.A. Disclosures Put Awkward Light on Previous Denials -- New York Times
WASHINGTON — For years, intelligence officials have tried to debunk what they called a popular myth about the National Security Agency: that its electronic net routinely sweeps up information about millions of Americans. In speeches and Congressional testimony, they have suggested that the agency’s immense power is focused exclusively on terrorists and other foreign targets, and that it does not invade Americans’ privacy.
But since the disclosures last week showing that the agency does indeed routinely collect data on the phone calls of millions of Americans, Obama administration officials have struggled to explain what now appear to have been misleading past statements. Much of the attention has been focused on testimony by James R. Clapper Jr., the director of national intelligence, to the Senate in March that the N.S.A. was not gathering data on millions of Americans.
When lawmakers returned to the Capitol on Tuesday for the first time since the N.S.A. disclosures, however, the criticism was muted.
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More News On NSA Lies And Denials Being Exposed by Recent Leaks
Senator Wants 'Straight Answers' On NSA From Country's Top Spy -- ABC News
Sen. Wyden Suggests Military, Intel Officials Lied About PRISM -- Defense News
Sen. Wyden: Clapper didn’t give ‘straight answer’ on NSA programs -- Washington Post
Both Sides Can Agree: America's Top Spy Lied About Data Mining -- The Atlantic
Harry Reid: If Lawmakers Didn't Know About NSA Surveillance, It's Their Fault -- Huffington Post
Fire James Clapper -- Fred Kaplan, Slate
James Clapper, NSA and the “L” word -- Erik Wemple, Washington Post
Clapper’s Lie: It’s time to drop the polite euphemisms. -- Charles C. W. Cooke, NRO
My Comment: The powers that be in Washington are circling the wagons .... no one is going to be held accountable for past lies or making misleading statements.