White House Calls for Creation of NSA Surveillance Review Group

This review group is intended to “assess whether, in light of advancements in communications technologies, the United States employs its technical collection capabilities in a manner that optimally protects our national security and advances our foreign policy while appropriately accounting for other policy considerations, such as the risk of unauthorized disclosure and our need to maintain the public trust,” the memo said. It called for a presidential briefing on its interim conclusions within 60 days of the group’s creation and a final report and recommendations no later than Dec. 15. Clapper confirmed the establishment of the review group in a press release Monday (http://1.usa.gov/19edbkK). Clapper’s office was unable to comment by our deadline.

Late Friday, the National Security Agency released a seven-page document (http://1.usa.gov/19Zwf9v) showcasing how the administration interprets its authority in searching phone records. The purpose of its release is “to correct inaccuracies that have appeared in the media and elsewhere” and foster the debate Obama encouraged, it said. It detailed many legal justifications, describing the significance of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, specifically Section 702, as well as Section 215 of the Patriot Act. It downplayed the scope and scale of data collection. The Internet “carries 1,826 Petabytes of information per day,” it said, noting the NSA “touches” around 1.6 percent of that information and selects only 0.025 percent for review in “its foreign intelligence mission.” The government “compels one or more [corporate communications] providers to assist the NSA with the collection of information responsive to the foreign intelligence need,” the NSA document added, noting it “employs covernames to describe its collection by source.” It cited Fairview, Blarney, Oakstar and Lithium as examples revealed in the media.

Reactions over the weekend to Obama’s remarks included praise and concern from members of Congress. Obama has pledged to work with lawmakers in planned changes to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and Section 215 of the Patriot Act. The office of House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, countered cautiously. “Much of any public concern about this critical program can be attributed to the president’s reluctance to sufficiently explain and defend it,” Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck said in a statement by email. “Transparency is important, but we expect the White House to insist that no reform will compromise the operational integrity of the program. That must be the president’s red line, and he must enforce it. Our priority should continue to be saving American lives, not saving face.” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called Obama’s planned changes “welcome steps” and cited concerns among House Democrats about the programs, noting the strengthening of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. She emphasized that House Democrats intend to work with Obama on “a better balance between security and privacy,” she said (http://1.usa.gov/14HyUn5). “The upcoming consideration of the FY 2014 Intelligence Authorization Bill will provide one opportunity to make these important changes."

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., asserted his committee’s jurisdiction. “I plan to conduct additional oversight, including a classified hearing likely in September, so that we can thoroughly review the data collection programs used by the NSA, ensure that the laws we have enacted are executed in a manner that complies with the law and that protects Americans’ civil liberties, and determine if changes to current law are necessary,” Goodlatte said in a statement (http://1.usa.gov/13MOyuE). The Senate Intelligence Committee also plans oversight hearings this fall, Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said Friday. Speaking on Meet the Press this weekend, House Homeland Security Chairman Mike McCaul, R-Texas, accused the White House of “backtracking” amid recent leaks and called the proposed surveillance overhauls “window dressing.” Obama “has not adequately explained” or “defended” the surveillance programs, McCaul added.

American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Anthony Romero called the planned changes “not nearly sufficient” despite being necessary and welcome. “The bulk collection of Americans’ phone records is only one of several troubling programs disclosed over the last two months. The president must work with members of Congress to reform all of these surveillance programs, including those authorized by Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act,” Romero said in a statement, citing Fourth Amendment protections (http://bit.ly/19bZP8R). “We also urge the president to release the relevant FISA Court opinions and agency memos that have created a body of secret law that is far removed from public oversight and adequate congressional review.” WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange called the announced reform “a victory of sorts for [former NSA contractor and leaker of NSA documents] Edward Snowden and his many supporters,” according to a statement Saturday (http://bit.ly/13qCZ8N). Obama and people everywhere should thank Snowden for the changes “taking shape,” Assange said.

Jennifer Hoelzer, former deputy chief of staff for Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., strongly questioned Obama’s history on these issues after Obama’s press conference. Obama and the intelligence communities “ignored and even thwarted our attempts to consult the public on these surveillance programs before they were reauthorized,” she wrote in a Saturday TechDirt op-ed of Wyden’s past efforts (http://bit.ly/11ZZ1BP).