The White House defended its massive phone surveillance program as a "critical tool" in fighting terrorism as criticism of the spying mounted on Capitol Hill on Thursday. The Guardian reported on Wednesday that the Obama administration used a secret court order to .
Information obtained from Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court orders "is a critical tool in protecting the nation from terror threats as it allows counterterrorism personnel to discover whether known or suspected terrorists have been in contact with other persons who may be engaged in terrorism activities, particularly people located inside the United States," White House principal deputy press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters aboard Air Force One on Thursday.
Earnest refused to comment directly on the Guardian report, but he did attempt to counter public concerns about overreach, citing an oversight team in place to monitor the order, "welcoming" debate about civil liberties and national security measures, and stating on the record that the government did not listen in on the calls.
The order does not allow the government to listen in on anyones telephone calls ... does not include the content of any communications or the name of any subscriber," Earnest said. Information obtained is limited to call details such as telephone numbers and call length, Earnest said.
During a question and answer session with reporters, Earnest said members of Congress are briefed on FISA orders, and the intelligence community, legal representatives, the Department of Justice and the inspectors general have all contributed to oversight of these court-authorized actions.
The president "welcomes discussion of the tradeoff between security and civil liberties," Earnest said.
Though many senators joined the administration's defense of the program and stressed that the content of the calls are not being monitored, others called it an invasion of privacy and an overreach.
Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, who drafted the Patriot Act that authorized phone records seizures,that he believes the Verizon court order "could not have been drafted more broadly." He said in a statement that the surveillance oversteps the authority granted in the Patriot Act and is "excessive and un-American."
Sen. Rand Paul, a libertarian Republican from Kentucky, wrote that the policy "is an astounding assault on the Constitution."
This is yet another example of government overreach that forces the question, What sort of state are we living in?" Republican Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada said in a statement.
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