Lies And The Lying Spiers Who Tell Them
By Luca Gattoni-Celli on 7.9.13 @ 6:08AM
Leaked documents have consistently contradicted the NSA’s bureaucratic line.
Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) grappled with a sinister catch-22. As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, he knew the government was systematically spying on its own citizens. But the Oregon Democrat also knew discussing classified programs put him on uncertain ground. So for two years, he could only drop hints that the truth would leave Americans shocked.
Then, during a rare public hearing of the committee this March with Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Wyden rolled the dice. The senator wanted a yes or no answer: “Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?”
Avoiding eye contact, the agitated Clapper immediately replied, “No, sir.”
Wyden looked surprised. “It does not?” he asked.
“Not wittingly,” Clapper said, clarifying that some Americans’ records might, hypothetically, be collected.
