By Jay Sekulow
The left's outrage over the IRS turns to a plea to 'move on'
U.S. intelligence officials attempted to reassure Americans Tuesday about the National Security Agency's broad collection of their telephone data, saying fewer than 300 phone numbers were authorized as queries against the huge NSA database last year, and that the agency did not collect the names or location of callers.
More than 1,000 computer technicians at the National Security Agency, most of them contractors, have the same kind of access used by self-proclaimed whistleblower Edward Snowden to steal documents on NSA's top secret data-gathering programs, the agency's chief told lawmakers Tuesday.
A string of scandals and fresh concerns about government overreach from the Internal Revenue Service to the National Security Agency have soured voters on President Obama and left many questioning his honesty and trustworthiness.
Current and former Washington officials Sunday slammed the leaker who exposed the government's secret collection of phone records and Internet data and vigorously defended the surveillance programs as essential and life-saving tools in the war on terrorism.
House Speaker John A. Boehner said Thursday that he was "surprised" by the Obama administration's lackluster defense of the National Security Agency's broad electronic data-gathering programs.
Former Rep. Peter Hoekstra, who was chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, recalls a cryptic telephone call from the White House in August 2004: "Come on over. We've got something to tell you."
House Republicans confirmed Sunday they are investigating Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. for perjury, while Sen. John McCain suggested he consider resigning in the wake of accusations that he lied to Congress about the probe of a journalist.
Capitol Hill Republicans on Sunday called the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups "chilling" and demanded a congressional inquiry.
Capitol Hill lawmakers said Sunday that the U.S. must take a tough stance against Syria for reportedly using chemical weapons against its own people but stopped short of calling for troops to intervene inside the country.
The White House accused Republicans of a political distraction Wednesday after House committee chairmen asked President Obama to release a State Department cable that they said would prove Hillary Rodham Clinton, as secretary off state, signed off on security cuts at the diplomatic post in Benghazi ahead of the attack Sept. 11.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s failure to recognize political Islam as a driver of jihadist terrorism is partly to blame for the FBI not identifying one of the Boston Marathon bombers in 2011 as a security risk, according to U.S. officials and private counterterrorism analysts.
Lawmakers are debating a cybersecurity bill that the White House has threatened to veto and that opponents say will facilitate broad government monitoring of Internet traffic.
Opponents of a bill to let private companies share cybersecurity information with the federal government vowed Thursday to continue their fight, saying the proposed law would lead to broader government monitoring of the Internet.
The director of national intelligence said Thursday he does not like being asked questions in public about the activities he oversees, telling lawmakers his efforts to avoid spilling secrets sometimes make him look as if he has something to hide.
The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence voted 18-2 Wednesday to pass legislation that would allow private companies to share cybersecurity information with federal agencies.
