Of course they're lying - they're the NSA.
The question is, what are they really lying about?
I'm aware of the gross levels government incompetence can take. But on a project like this, concerning such crucial fundamental design issues, that incompetence didn't happen over such a long-established engineering issue.
So what's left? Sabotage.
But by whom? It's not in the parts or design, because of the partial checking that takes place during construction. It's not a one-off 007, or that would be noted, too.
That leaves...
