Intelligence agencies want 'all the phone records,' defend surveillance programs — RT USA

Intelligence agencies want 'all the phone records,' defend surveillance programs — RT USA:

 Leading members of the United States intelligence community continued to defend the government's vast surveillance programs in Washington on Thursday and suggested that those agency's capabilities exceed what's been previously reported.

During a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday afternoon, lawmakers asked representatives from the National Security Agency, Department of Justice and Office of the Director of National Intelligence to provide more information about the surveillance programs operated by the government and exposed through a series of unauthorized disclosures attributed to former contractor Edward Snowden earlier this year.

The hearing, the first open meeting of the committee since March, centered on the NSA's authorities under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and PATRIOT Act that allow the government to gather basic records pertaining to the communications of American citizens.