Independent voices from the TWT Communities

The director of the National Security Agency insisted on Tuesday that the government's sweeping surveillance programs have foiled some 50 terrorist plots worldwide in a forceful defense echoed by the leaders of the House Intelligence Committee.

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.

Edward Snowden did not have enough high-level access at the National Security Agency to obtain the kind of information that would compromise America's place among other nations, House Intelligence Committee members said Thursday.

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."

The chairmen of the House and Senate intelligence committees on Sunday defended a recently disclosed government surveillance program as the whistleblower behind the bombshell leak about the program willingly revealed himself to the public and spoke proudly of his actions.

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.

A California Democrat on the U.S. House Armed Services Committee put the Pentagon on notice of her intent to finally end a failing and heavily criticized missile defense program.

Congressional members have given the IRS until Wednesday to provide copies of all agency communications that include the words "tea party," "patriot," and "conservative."

Republicans said Sunday that the Internal Revenue Service's heightened scrutiny of conservative political groups was "chilling" and further eroded public trust in government.

Capitol Hill Republicans on Sunday called the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups "chilling" and demanded a congressional inquiry.

The senior Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee says Republican obsession over the White House's handling of the inquiry into last year's deadly attack on a U.S. diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, is hurting the investigation.

As the Obama administration prepares to launch a new round of strategic nuclear missile cuts, Russia's strategic nuclear forces are undergoing a major modernization, according to U.S. officials.

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 chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee says evidence suggests the two brothers accused of the Boston bombings had help planning the attack — and he says he has concerns about a possible "wider conspiracy" stretching overseas.
"He was lying," said Chairman Mike Rogers, Breitbart reported. "He clearly has over-inflated his position, he has over-inflated his access and he's even over-inflated what the actual technology of the programs would allow one to do. It's impossible for him to do what he was saying he could do."
Lawmakers downplay Edward Snowden: ‘He was lying’ about NSA →