James Clapper Says He Answered Senator Wyden in the ‘Least Untruthful Manner’ He Could Think Of

New York Magazine ^ | 6/10/2013 | Dan Amira

[nickcarraway]

James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, is still working on his explanation for why he told Senator Ron Wyden in March that the NSA does not wittingly "collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans." As we now know, the NSA does precisely that — metadata (but not content) from pretty much every phone call made in America is collected and stored.

On Thursday, Clapper claimed, "What I said was, the NSA does not voyeuristically pore through U.S. citizens' e-mails. I stand by that." Of course, that's not what he said, and everyone knows it, because video. So now Clapper says that he simply has a different definition of collect than most humans, and this defniition allowed him to answer in the "least untruthful manner." He admits that this explanation is probably "too cute by half."

ANDREA MITCHELL: Senator Wyden made quite a lot out of your exchange with him last March during the hearings. Can you explain what you meant when you said that there was not data collection on millions of Americans?

JAMES CLAPPER: First-- as I said, I have great respect for Senator Wyden. I thought, though in retrospect, I was asked-- "When are you going to start-- stop beating your wife" kind of question, which is meaning not-- answerable necessarily by a simple yes or no. So I responded in what I thought was the most truthful, or least untruthful manner by saying no. And again, to go back to my metaphor. What I was thinking of is looking at the Dewey Decimal numbers-- of those books in that metaphorical library-- to me, collection of U.S. persons' data would mean taking the book off the shelf and opening it up and reading it.

ANDREA MITCHELL: Taking the contents?

JAMES CLAPPER: Exactly. That's what I meant. Now--

ANDREA MITCHELL: You did not mean archiving the telephone numbers? JAMES CLAPPER: No.

ANDREA MITCHELL: Let me ask you about the content--

JAMES CLAPPER: And this has to do with of course somewhat of a semantic, perhaps some would say too-- too cute by half. But it is-- there are honest differences on the semantics of what-- when someone says "collection" to me, that has a specific meaning, which may have a different meaning to him.

[nickcarraway]

I wonder what Stephen Colbert says about this?

[gov_bean_ counter]

Most people don't know the difference between flat files, relational databases and cube storage. They don't realize that, on the home database, a lot of personally identifiable information is embedded in the cell phone number (which is also the account number). They don't realize that a data manager with the appropriate authorities can drill down to that data. Most people defending the program reference court rulings issued during a more primitive time where a line of data was all that there was. I am not convinced that from numbers, to numbers, time and duration are the real metadata being collected. I am not convinced that PII isn't being mined. That PII when combined with other readily accessible information can create a personal profile on a person that the government has no right to.

For me the weekend raised more questions than it provided answers

[Nachum]

The list, Ping

Let me know if you would like to be on or off the ping list

http://www.nachumlist.com/

[Diogenesis]

An admitted LIAR to Congress.

So the question becomes:

Was HE the one who left Americans
to die in Benghazi OR Boston?

[Buckeye McFrog]

Meanwhile terrorists in Afghanistan buy a disposable phone, make two calls then they pitch it.

[NVDave]

Ditto.

The problem with many “conservatives” arguing that the vast data-mining of call records is legal is that they don’t know jack about what is now in those records as a consequence of most people now owning wireless phones.

For most of the “conservatives” arguing in favor of the ability of the government to do this, I notice that they have a liberal arts background. In other words, they don’t know shit about technology, much less computer networks or wireless networks.

It’s quickly getting to a point when I’m discussing this issue with some conservatives that I want to say: “Look, I hate to sound uncharitable, but the truth is, you’re simply too stupid to have ANY opinion on this issue. I might as well as your pet Golden Retriever as ask you for an opinion - because you both are just about as well informed.”

[lodi90]

Ah ha! So it depends on the meaning of “collection”. Good to know, now. Everybody lying about this belongs in jail. Every last stooge.

[Timber Rattler]

Heh...so the nation's top intelligence office is so guileless that he actually admits to lying, under oath, to those who are supposedly providing oversight?

Yeah, my trust in the government is certainly restored!

(sarcasm tag off)

[Red Badger]

Back in the 90’s, I was working at the NSA at Ft. Meade as a contractor for some equipment we had sold them.

My contact there told me that “If someone in Siberia talks on a walkie-talkie at four in the morning, we have it.”...........

They monitor EVERYTHING in electronic communications on this planet. PERIOD.........

[Marcella]

It's according to what the meaning of “is” is.

A Democrat district attorney took a political case against me to our State Attorney General, John Cornyn at the time, (case # JC-0330), on the basis of what the word “or” meant in a sentence. The district attorney lost and I won. I knew I was right to start with. That Democrat District Attorney lost his next election.

[maggief]

“...to me, collection of U.S. persons’ data would mean taking the book off the shelf and opening it up and reading it.”

Could that meaning be used for, say, a gun collection???

[TexasCajun]

So, the SOB runs to MSNBC’s sympathetic Andrea Mitchell to respond to why he lied to Senator Wyden.

[Billthedrill]

“Too cute by half” doesn’t even begin to describe it. When you state that you are collecting phone numbers but no names in an age when the average grade-schooler can do a reverse lookup from his cell phone you are lying, period.

[Rad_J]

So, a library is only a collection of books(data) when it’s open and people are reading books?
Buy stock in tar and feathers because we need it by the truckload.

[edwinland]

“If your excuse is that you are incapable of discerning what “any type of data at all” means, you are no longer allowed to keep a job title that has the word “intelligence” in it.”

- Jim Geraghty, National Review

[ptsal]

...voyeuristically pore...

...only a lawyer could like that choice of words....

[MestaMachine]

He never lied. He never told the truth. He says he told the 'least UNTRUTH'. What the hell is THAT? All depends what the meaning of lie is.

This goes out to the Threat Matrix Ping List. Anyone wanting on or off, you know the routine, I think.

[Texas Songwriter]

depends on what ‘is’, is.

[expat2]

I don’t know about that, but he IS the guy who said the Muslim Brotherhood is a nice, charitable organization.

[Delta Dawn]

‘Yeah, my trust in the government is certainly restored!’

I believe James when he says that no humans are printing out transcripts and reviewing those phone calls made by every American.

What is probably happening is each phone call is screened by software looking for either words or phrases that have been deemed suspicious by the Feds.

When a hit is made, that phone metadata is entered into the database of suspicious calls, and then that call is reviewed by human eyes for supporting context.

We definitely are not getting the full story.