Xatanas

Ironically, so do I…

President Barack Obama on June 7 (emphasis supplied):

“When it comes to telephone calls, nobody is listening to your telephone calls,” the president said.

Wall Street Journal | Obama: ‘Nobody Is Listening to Your Telephone Calls’

NSA June 15 (emphasis supplied):

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat, disclosed this week that during a secret briefing to members of Congress, he was told that the contents of a phone call could be accessed “simply based on an analyst deciding that.”

If the NSA wants “to listen to the phone,” an analyst’s decision is sufficient, without any other legal authorization required, Nadler said he learned. “I was rather startled,” said Nadler, an attorney and congressman who serves on the House Judiciary committee.

Not only does this disclosure shed more light on how the NSA’s formidable eavesdropping apparatus works domestically, it also suggests the Justice Department has secretly interpreted federal surveillance law to permit thousands of low-ranking analysts to eavesdrop on phone calls.

Because the same legal standards that apply to phone calls also apply to e-mail messages, text messages, and instant messages, Nadler’s disclosure indicates the NSA analysts could also access the contents of Internet communications without going before a court and seeking approval.

cnet | NSA admits listening to U.S. phone calls without warrants

// It’s not about who’s lying anymore, but about *how big* are the lies.