Read Newly Declassified Documents on NSA Phone Data Collection
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2013-07-31 16:46:04 UTC
On the heels of The Guardian's latest expose on another National Security Agency surveillance program called XKeyscore, the Director of National Intelligence authorized the release of previously classified documents related to the collection of telephone metadata.
The collection of those records is pursuant to one of the Patriot Act's most contested portions. Section 215 allows the government to obtain access to business records about users for purposes of national security. PRISM, a controversial NSA surveillance program that reportedly allows the security agency to access the servers of major Internet organizations, falls under Section 215.
A couple of weeks after PRISM first took center stage, United States government officials pushed to declassify more information regarding the program in order to clarify its purpose. Because PRISM was released in a piecemeal fashion, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the public didn't have a complete understanding of the program.
Wednesday's release of the documents comes a little more than one month after President Obama claimed the NSA's programs were perfectly legal and said he "welcomes a debate" about PRISM.
DNI posted three documents to its website, each related to Section 215. The first is a seven-page report describing two bulk collection programs. It was made available to members of Congress in 2009 in order to justify the reauthorization of Section 215 of the Patriot Act and Section 402 of FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act). Also called "pen/trap," Section 402 allows the government to install a pen register or trap-and-trace device to monitor an individual's line.
The document goes on to detail seven calls the NSA intercepted prior to 9/11 from hijacker Khalid al-Mihdhar to a facility associated with an al Qaeda safehouse:
Cover Letter and 2009 Report on the National Security Agency’s Bulk Collection Program for USA PATRIOT Act... by Emily Banks
Similarly, the second document posted from 2011 reiterates the same details from the 2009 report about the NSA's bulk collection programs covered under Section 215 of the Patriot Act and Section 402 of FISA.
According to the cover letter, this report was given to members of Congress in light of the reauthorization of Section 215, which was set to expire on Feb. 28, 2011.
We believe that making this document available to all Members of Congress, as we did with a similar document in December 2009, is an effective way to inform the legislative debate about reauthorization of Section 215.
Cover Letters and 2011 Report on the National Security Agency’s Bulk Collection Program for USA PATRIOT Act... by Emily Banks
The third, and perhaps most relevant, document is a 17-page Primary Order for Business Records Collection under Section 215, signed on April 25, 2013.
Image: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
Topics: NSA, Politics, prism, privacy, surveillance, U.S., US Government, US & World
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