Despite professions by intelligence officials that “backdoor” searches have been strictly limited to foreign individuals, reporting Tuesday has revealed that the NSA has also conducted warrantless searches of Americans’ calls and emails.
In a letter sent to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) on Friday, the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper acknowledged,
These queries were performed “pursuant to minimization procedures approved by the FISA court and consistent with the statute and the fourth amendment,” Clapper said—referring to Section 702 of the Fisa Amendments Act (FAA), which gives the NSA authority to search without warrant the communications of foreign targets.
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT