NSA admits listening to U.S. phone calls without warrants

cnet ^ | June 15, 2013 4:39 PM PDT | Declan McCullagh

[tje]

The National Security Agency has acknowledged in a new classified briefing that it does not need court authorization to listen to domestic phone calls.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat, disclosed this week that during a secret briefing to members of Congress, he was told that the contents of a phone call could be accessed "simply based on an analyst deciding that."

If the NSA wants "to listen to the phone," an analyst's decision is sufficient, without any other legal authorization required, Nadler said he learned. "I was rather startled," said Nadler, an attorney who serves on the House Judiciary committee.

[theBuckwheat]

How close are we to the point where the risks of a Constitutional Convention outweigh the risks posed by the trajectory the federal government is presently on.

This may be the last peaceful option we have.

But the outrages in this article are not the only dangers to liberty. The greatest danger is that government is imposing debt serfdom on everyone in its grasp. That is made possible by the lack of limits on spending, borrowing and money-printing. Being able to create money out of thin air enables government to be far bigger than it otherwise could be if it had to balance its budget with tax receipts alone. So, the monetary profligacy we have in many ways is the foundation for many of these tyrannous actions.

A Convention is the only way to solve all these problems.

[Gene Eric]

Responding to my HHS parody, why are our private health records not as important as our private phone calls?

[xzins]

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat, disclosed this week that during a secret briefing to members of Congress, he was told that the contents of a phone call could be accessed "simply based on an analyst deciding that."

If the NSA wants "to listen to the phone," an analyst's decision is sufficient, without any other legal authorization required, Nadler said he learned. "I was rather startled," said Nadler, an attorney who serves on the House Judiciary committee.

As many have suspected, this revelation by Nadler strongly suggests that the NSA "records" all content and some of what they recorded they "listen" to.

The impression most have is that they "tap" a phone and listen live to an ongoing conversation. I do not think that is the case. I think they have ALL content on file and simply have to decide which calls to pull out of storage if they wish to listen to them.

BTW, Nadler revealed a "secret briefing". Fox is running wild with their accusations that Snowden's is another Benedict Arnold, led by Karl Rove.

Does this mean Nadler is Benedict Nadler?

This is a terrible time, and we will find a way to unite and kill this, or this nation will slide more quickly toward tyranny. No one is without sin or mistake, sinners can be blackmailed or ridiculed (Alinsky), and the government has shown it is willing to use its access to data for political purposes.

And it is collecting content. I'm convinced.

[Henry Hnyellar]

And it is collecting content. I’m convinced.

Cuz Nadler said so? If Nadler commented on anything else, you would reject it out of hand because he is a nutjob leftie. But her you are going to blindly believe him?

Wow. So much for intelligent, thinking conservatives.

[Girlene]

The head of the FBI, Robert Mueller, didn’t even know about this (or he was lying). From the article:

.................””Rep. Nadler’s disclosure that NSA analysts can listen to calls without court orders came during a House Judiciary hearing on Thursday that included FBI director Robert Mueller as a witness.

Mueller initially sought to downplay concerns about NSA surveillance by claiming that, to listen to a phone call, the government would need to seek “a special, a particularized order from the FISA court directed at that particular phone of that particular individual.”

Is information about that procedure “classified in any way,” Nadler asked.

“I don’t think so,” Mueller replied.

“Then I can say the following,” Nadler said. “We heard precisely the opposite at the briefing the other day. We heard precisely that you could get the specific information from that telephone simply based on an analyst deciding that... In other words, what you just said is incorrect. So there’s a conflict.” ....................

[null and void]

Guess this confirms Snowden statement !

If anyone doubted.

[Christie at the beach]

Thank you for the post.

Senator Hatch was on Fox earlier implying proudly that oh, it's no big deal. He said, “we (the NSA) have been doing this for a long time. He even was asked if this snooping without a warrant hurts the 4th Amendment. Hatch replied, “absolutely not.” He said he knew all about this dragnet of data. Blatant abuse of their oath of office.

[null and void]

At least the communist Nadler (my rep) is good for something.

Lucky you.

(s) nully, from the land of Boxer, Feinstein and Pleosi

[2ndDivisionVet]

So Mr. Snowden wasn’t bragging when he said he could listen in on anyone? So what else is true?

[xzins]

Nadler is simply another confirmation since this first hit the airwaves.

I do appreciate your ad hominem approach, though. I want to commend you on your skill with it. You haven’t laid it on so thick that it’s obvious. Nor is it so subtle that it’s ineffective.

Just for laughs, perhaps you might reveal why the NSA would need to “mine” what the phone companies already can tell you from their records: who called whom, from where, the numbers, the duration, and even the per minute cost. :>)

[Wuli]

I am sorry to say but unless otherwise stated in law,
the Constitutional provision against “unreasonable” searches does not - simply by a reasonable vs unreasonable standard - mandate “a warrant” - again, unless otherwise stated in law

did the Patriot act open up the FISA court standard

or, is what the NSA folks saying actually unchanged since b4 the Patriot Act

I myself don’t know for sure

[bigbob]

People who feel compelled to share every detail of their lives on Facebook and Twitter should have no problem with any of this.

[Real Cynic No More]

This makes Dear Leader’s statements in his presser of Friday 06/14 to be nothing but lies, when he said that the government is neither recording nor listening to the content of conversations.

Just one more instance and proof that he lies to the American people. Bill Clinton was a piker compared to Obama.

[Girlene]

The impression most have is that they "tap" a phone and listen live to an ongoing conversation. I do not think that is the case. I think they have ALL content on file and simply have to decide which calls to pull out of storage if they wish to listen to them.<

It's unclear whether they have the actual content stored or not....but if it's possible to store all these conversation, I would guarantee they have it.

Didn't Feinstein say last week, after the leak, that they are only storing "metadata"?

[null and void]

Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping!

To get onto The Nut-job Conspiracy Theory Ping List you must threaten to report me to the Mods if I don’t add you to the list...

Also, follow OneWingedShark's link.

[Henry Hnyellar]

If you think it’s ad homimen than you are truly lost. I am in no way defending the current situation, so don’t presume to speak for me. My point is using Nadler to make your point is flawed. That’s it.

When you hitch your wagon to the likes of Nadler you’ve lost me. Call it what you will.

[Texas Songwriter]

Let us go back to Janet Napalotano’s remarks saying the “Christian, anti-evolution, anti-government types” are the biggest threat to this country. How long will it be before they are charged to listen to those deemed more dangerous than al Quaeda? Hate-speech is what they consider diangerous....so who is next to be targeted. Any future law the democrats pass may be used as the pretext to PURGE those the democrats and RINO’s do not like. It sounds trite, but this is truely 1984.

[xzins]

You might want to read your post again and then look up the definition of "ad hominem".

[laplata]

I think your probably correct. But I don’t see any public officials in any state with the balls to do anything.

---

I think anyone who initiated anything would not live long, or at least, be threatened with death.

They can make noises but don’t dare cross the line.

Sites like FR, conservative talk radio and much more will probably be gone within a few years.

[Chgogal]

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat, disclosed this week that during a secret briefing to members of Congress, he was told that the contents of a phone call could be accessed “simply based on an analyst deciding that.”

WTFrick!

I thought Snowden was a little lying twerp? Funny who they can snoop on US citizens but can't find an illegal alien. We citizens are damn stupid for putting up with this.