NSA whistleblower Russell Tice was back on Keith Olbermann's MSNBC program Thursday evening to expand on his Wednesday revelations that the National Security Agency spied on individual U.S. journalists, entire U.S. news agencies as well as "tens of thousands" of other Americans.
Tice said on Wednesday that the NSA had vacuumed in all domestic communications of Americans, including, faxes, phone calls and network traffic.
Today Tice said that the spy agency also combined information from phone wiretaps with data that was mined from credit card and other financial records. He said information of tens of thousands of U.S. citizens is now in digital databases warehoused at the NSA.
"This [information] could sit there for ten years and then potentially it marries up with something else and ten years from now they get put on a no-fly list and they, of course, won't have a clue why," Tice said.
In most cases, the person would have no discernible link to terrorist organizations that would justify the initial data mining or their inclusion in the database.
"This is garnered from algorithms that have been put together to try to just dream-up scenarios that might be information that is associated with how a terrorist could operate," Tice said. "And once that information gets to the NSA, and they start to put it through the filters there . . . and they start looking for word-recognition, if someone just talked about the daily news and mentioned something about the Middle East they could easily be brought to the forefront of having that little flag put by their name that says 'potential terrorist'."
The revelation that the NSA was involved in data mining isn't new. The infamous 2004 hospital showdown between then-White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales and Deputy Attorney General James Comey over the legality of a government surveillance program involved the data mining of massive databases, according to a 2007 New York Times article.
But there was always a slight possibility, despite the suspicions of many critics, that the NSA's data mining involved only people who were legitimately suspected of connections to terrorists overseas, as the Bush Administration staunchly maintained about its domestic phone wiretapping program.
“There’s no spying on Americans,” former Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell insisted to the New Yorker last year.
But Tice's assertions this week contradict these claims.
With regard to the surveillance of journalists, Tice wouldn't disclose the names of the specific reporters or media outlets he targeted when he worked as an analyst for the NSA but said in the part of the program he covered, "everyone was collected."
"They sucked in everybody and at some point they may have cherry-picked from what they had, but I wasn't aware of who got cherry-picked out of the big pot," he said.
The purpose, he was told, was to eliminate journalists from possible suspicion so that the NSA could focus on those who merited further surveillance. But Tice said on Wednesday that the data on journalists was collected round-the-clock, year-round, suggesting there was never an intent to eliminate anyone from the surveillance.
New York Times reporter James Risen, who co-authored that paper's 2005 story on the warrantless wiretapping program with colleague Eric Lichtblau, suspects he could have been among those monitored, because Bush Administration officials obtained copies of his phone records, which they showed to a federal grand jury. The grand jury is investigating leaked information that appeared in Risen's 2006 book State of War about a CIA program, codenamed Operation Merlin, to infiltrate and destabilize Iran's nuclear program. Risen doesn't know if his records were obtained by the FBI with a legitimate warrant or through the NSA program that Tice described.
Risen told Olbermann that the NSA program to monitor journalists was likely intended to be used to ferret out and intimidate possible sources "to have a chilling effect on potential whistleblowers in the government to make them realize that there's a Big Brother out there that will get them if they step out of line."
Who else might have been among those targeted by the NSA?
Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-West Virginia) said, in a separate interview, that he could very well have been targeted, too.
Rockefeller was speaking to MSNBC host Chris Matthews and gave a cryptic reply when Matthews asked him what he thought about Tice's spying allegations (see 4:14 in the video below).
"I'm quite prepared to believe it," Rockefeller said. "I mean, I think they went after anybody they could get. Including me."
Matthews replied, "They didn't eavesdrop on you, did they Senator?"
"No," Rockefeller said shaking his head, "and they sent me no letters."
If the allegations are true, what do you think, if anything, should happen?
9 comments:
National Security is an important issue, but when it undermines what it is trying to protect then it has gone to far. Really I don't think the steps they have gone to will make any difference. It's a big world out there and unless you crack down on every form of media there will always be a channel for terrorist activities. It's like breaking into a house, no matter what you do you can't make it safe. all you can do is discourage potential robbers, and if someone is willing to blow himself up for a cause, then he is probably willing to jump through the extra hoops to avoid being detected.
They are just doing what they can to ensure our safety and if that means invasion of privacy then so be it. If you have nothing to hide then why should it matter if they are listening to on our conversations or tapping into our computers?? Sure some people say we are slowly losing our freedom but if this a way to keep our nation safe from potential terrorist attacks then let it be.
I personally think should not be a NSA at all. This is allowing to much power in the hands of one organization. I think that these allegations are true so the only thing to wait for is when they ask to monitor each individual in the world. I think we as a nation need to end this organization before the power goes into the wrong hands. As Tice said "everyone was collected" if journalists are being monitored what keeps us from being in the same position.
I can understand that the NSA is wanting to take extra precautions in protecting America, but I believe the NSA has no business tapping people's phone conversations. It is also unfair that they limit their suspicions to certain demographics such as the journalists who were recently put under suspicion. The NSA should spend their money on a program that is more effective, less suspicious, and protects people's privacy. I'm sure there is a more efficient and smarter plan that can be carried out to find and weed out the real roots of the threat on the United States. It is not fair to pin point certain people merely because they said something about a bombing in Iraq. This information could have been heard on the news. The NSA is wasting time with nit-picky details and not focusing in on the big picture. Wire tapping should be banned and a more effective plan or program should take its place.
I think the government has taken things a little to far this time. By the looks of it, if I went out and bought bag of fertelizer then I would be labled a potential terrorist or if I said "that bombing in Madrid was trrible" then I would be labled a potential terrorist for saying "bombing" plus that oversteps all thinkable privacy lines. If this is true they know everythig we do, it's like a communistic setup. They're so paranoid of something going wrong that they'll anyone and everyone as a threat to the peace. Besides that no computer will be able to tell them who really is the terrorist or not. Although I'm not to suprisd the government is always swing from one end o the pendelum to tthe next, end it's simply becuse they have no idea wht to do, they're scared. time and time again they've shown their inability to rule properly.
If the allegations are true, I'd like to say they should be stopped. As citizens of the United States, we should be granted with privacy. However, since I know it will not stop (especially since the government is going "terrorist crazy" lately), there should at least be some talk about it in government. Like, maybe they have to present their case and get permission to "spy", like a warrant. If terrorists were really here, I think they'd know better than to discuss their plans over the phone or through mail, though.
Even though NSA is trying to protect Americans by tapping into people's phones to stop terrorists I believe it is still a crime. What has happened to our legal systems? It is an invasion of not only their privacy, but what makes it right? If we allow this to continue next time it could be us. I just don't know where we draw the line.
Okay, yea, I finally was able to make an account.
Anyway! Hello, 1984, Handmaid's Tale, and Brave New World! I think the actions the NSA are participating in are border-line unconstitutional. It is definitely overstepping freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and American citizens' right to privacy. Trust me, I am all for protecting American soil and those who live on it, however, there are limits to such power. Call me paranoid, but whose to say, in the future the NSA won't survey everyone. Of course, that would be a daunting task, but power corrupts everyone and any good intentions. Our entire government is based off of the idea of the will on the general public and protecting the country against overwhelming greed and authority by a few individuals.
I do believe that NSA should jump through some hoops to prove a person's conspiracy against the nation. Taking words out of context is not a fair accusation. What happened to innocent until proven guilty?
i think that the goverment is overreacting to everything. sometimes eople juoke about like there going to blow up something, and the next thing you know th FBI are at your front doorstep. but i also think that hthey are just trying to keep us safe, but at the same time they are just blowing everything out of proportion.
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