CNET Story Alleging NSA Can Listen To U.S. Phone Calls Without Warrant Faces Skepticism

[ProSense]

Last edited Sun Jun 16, 2013, 10:01 AM - Edit history (1)

CNET Story Alleging NSA Can Listen To U.S. Phone Calls Without Warrant Faces Skepticism

A blockbuster article published by CNET Saturday night alleges that the National Security Agency has the power to listen to Americans' phone calls without a warrant.

That bold assertion lit up social media, but also drew skepticism, with many arguing that it seemed to be based on a misunderstanding.

The core of the CNET article focused on an exchange between Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and FBI Director Robert Mueller at a hearing on Thursday. (Watch above.) During questioning, Nadler claimed that in a separate, closed-door briefing, he had been told that NSA analysts could listen to the contents of a phone call at analysts' discretion.

Given the apparent illegality of listening to Americans' phone calls without warrants, some questioned whether Nadler understood the briefing he cited. As of late Saturday night, several publications were not able to reach the congressman for comment.

Mother Jones's Kevin Drum writes that "information from that telephone" could mean one of many things, and that Nadler may have been "confusing the ability of an analyst to get subscriber information for a phone number with the ability to listen to the call itself." Normative's Julian Sanchez wrote that Nadler may have been referring to a more limited set of circumstances than the CNET article implied.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/15/nsa-phone-calls-warrant_n_3448299.html

This is how the media spread misinformation. From the original article.

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.

<...>

The NSA yesterday declined to comment to CNET. A representative said Nadler was not immediately available. (This is unrelated to last week's disclosure that the NSA is currently collecting records of the metadata of all domestic Verizon calls, but not the actual contents of the conversations.)

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57589495-38/nsa-admits-listening-to-u.s-phone-calls-without-warrants/

Second- and third-generation claims about misinterpreted statements. Not only is it inaccurate to claim that the NSA "admits listening to U.S. phone calls," the article is written to imply (bogusly) that any analyst could listen. That's a claim long debunked as absurd.

Edited to add:

Another misleading media report implies that warrantless wiretapping is legal
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023026724

[cantbeserious]

1. Might It Be That Disinformation Is Being Spread To Purposely Confuse And Hide The Truth

eom

[Downwinder]

2. When legal training is necessary to understand what your

Government is telling you, there is a problem.

[BenzoDia]

4. Now this I agree with.

[NoMoreWarNow]

8. Indeed. We have a right to know what exactly they are doing with our personal data

So sick of this insanely excessive secrecy because of the "terrorists".

[FarCenter]

14. Nadler has legal training -- a JD in fact. It's technology where he is a little short.

[Downwinder]

15. If programmers start taking the LSAT

they will blow the top off the curve.

[FarCenter]

16. Complex legal sentences and paragraphs are best analysed using programming tools.

A friend who went to law school found that various diagrams and symbolic tools of computer science helped a lot. Programmers are also used to defining variables, so they aren't under the misapprehension that words have their ordinary meaning, rather than the specific legal term meaning or the meaning assigned by a definition in the text, i.e. global or local variables.

The legal profession seems to want to do everything in long english text, which is confusing and inefficient.

[Downwinder]

18. Plus if else and while statements.

[Kolesar]

3. & the twitchy and self righteous DUers put their fingers in their ears and say:"La la la"

"I never heard anything that refutes my cause to hate Obama"

[pscot]

5. That headline has already been used

you need to vary the script a little, or people will begin to catch on.

[Kolesar]

6. "La la la" eom

[Bobbie Jo]

7. Um...it's the HuffPo headline.

Try again.

......another headline "reader."

[pscot]

9. I read the Cnet article yesterday

And the header, and a post referencing the Cnet article were offered yesterday as evidence that there's nothing to see here. Dismissive and insulting responses don't do much for your case.

[Bobbie Jo]

10. "Dismissive and insulting responses...."

Indeed.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3026763

[pscot]

12. Well done

That didn't occur to me 'til after I posted. I will cop to minor embarrassment.

[Bobbie Jo]

13. Been there, done that.

[Marr]

11. Right now this claim isn't based on much. However,

...after Clapper's brazen lying on the subject, I'm not inclined to give much weight to denials from the surveillance industry, or to do as they ask when they suggest substituting alternate definitions for words they've used.

At the same time, I don't know where it goes from here unless someone with similar access backs Nadler on his claims.

[flamingdem]

17. This news about the NSA being able to access sms, email etc.

is running on the msnbc crawl. But it's not confirmed?