"What to say, and not to say, to 'our overseers'"

[kpete]

When NSA analysts want to "task" new collections or search an existing database, they are required to fill out a form that includes their "targeting rationale." The rationale is provided for oversight by the Justice Department and the office of the Director of National Intelligence when NSA personnel use the powers that Congress gave them in the FISA Amendments Act of 2008. This document tells NSA analysts how to explain their targeting decisions without giving "extraneous information" to "our FAA overseers."

The basic premise of this process is to memorialize why you the analyst have requested targeting. This rationale will be provided to our external FISA Amendment Act (FAA) overseers, the Department of Justice and Office of the Director of National Intelligence, for all FAA targeting.

While we do want to provide our FAA overseers with the information they need, we DO NOT want to give them any extraneous information.... This rationale can be no longer than one short sentence.

[....] Your rationale MUST NOT contain any additional information including: probable cause-like information (i.e., proof of your analytic judgment), how you came to your analytic conclusions, any RAGTIME information, classification marking or selector information.

http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/750577/target-analyst-rationale-instructions-final.pdf
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130816/01063624198/nsa-agents-told-to-withhold-target-information-those-charge-oversight.shtml

[Cooley Hurd]

1. No RAGTIME info.

EL Doctorow is not amused.

All kidding aside, this is VERY important info. Thanks kpete!!

[kpete]

2. back at you

[bunnies]

3. So...

whats to stop them from making shit up? X person is in contact with X person is "rationale"? Seems just a tad vague.

[mick063]

4. Tear the Utah server center down.

Now.