Senator Chambliss' Confusing Defense of the NSA

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http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/07/senator-chambliss-confusing-defense-of-the-nsa/278161/




On This Week, after Glenn Greenwald claimed that NSA analysts can easily access the stored phone calls, emails and Web histories of Americans (and promising to publish a story on the subject soon), host George Stephanopolous cut away to the senior Republican on the Senate intelligence committee.

Here's their exchange:

Stephanopolous: Would it surprise you if you found out that what Mr. Greenwald is reporting there is true -- that low level officials have that kind of capability to read email, see Internet traffic, listen to phone calls?

Saxby Chambliss: George, it wouldn't just surprise me, it would shock me. I was back at NSA just last week. I spent a couple of hours there with high level and low level NSA officials. And what I've been assured of is that there is no capability at NSA for anyone without a court order to listen to any telephone conversation or to monitor any email. As a matter of fact, we don't monitor email, that's what kind of assures me that what the reporting is, is not correct. Because no emails are monitored now. They used to be. But that stopped two or three years ago. So I feel confident that there may have been some abuse, but if there was it was pure accidental.

What a confusing answer.