Former NSA Insider Says He Was a 'NY Times' Source on Spying Story

[sabra]

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001809104

Former NSA Insider Says He Was a 'NY Times' Source on Spying Story

NEW YORK ABC News reported Tuesday night that Russell Tice, a longtime insider at the National Security Agency, is now a whistleblower and says he was a source for The New York Times in its December story revealing domestic spying.

...

According to the ABC web site, Tice says some of the secret "black world" operations run by the NSA were operated in ways that he believes violated the law. "He is prepared to tell Congress all he knows about the alleged wrongdoing in these programs run by the Defense Department and the National Security Agency in the post-9/11 efforts to go after terrorists," ABC says.

Tice says the technology exists to track and sort through every domestic and international phone call as they are switched through centers, such as one in New York, and to search for key words or phrases that a terrorist might use.
He says the number of Americans subject to eavesdropping by the NSA could be in the millions if the full range of secret NSA programs is used.

The day The New York Times broke the story of the NSA eavesdropping without warrants, Tice surfaced as a whistleblower in the agency. He told ABC News that he was a source for the Times' reporters. "But Tice maintains that his conscience is clear," ABC reports.

[BlueManDude]

1. Eavesdropping?

Eavesdropping is when I'm sitting at the bar and I prick up my ears to listen in on the conversation of the two ladies sitting to my right. Spying is when the US government listens in on my phone call.

[Dr.Phool]

2. I heard this morning that NSA refused to let Tice testify before Congress

Because nobody over there has a security clearance high enough to hear his testimony!

:wtf: :argh: :grr: :scared:

[stop the bleeding]

4. Where did you here this? Because I wouldn't put it past * to try and pull

a tactic like this.

WTF is right.:wtf: :argh: :grr: :scared:

[sabra]

6. it's true, unclassified memo from NSA to Tice here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=104246&mesg_id=104246

[stop the bleeding]

7. thank you - I read it and this is not good news for us or Russ

Do you ever get any work done???

[sabra]

8. LOL - I am good @ multi-tasking

but my work might be getting suspicious :-)

[wordpix]

9. good work, chimpy, you really know how to stifle free speech

[sabra]

10. I also wonder what the consequences would be if Tice moves forward

regardless?

[stop the bleeding]

11. legal and mortal consequences are the questions now for Tice, he

has made his name fairly popular lately so it will be interesting. I feel like he will move forward, he has come this far and feels really strong about this.

Also I thought in the original NYT article that there were/are multiple sources for this story possibly up to 12 people. This I am pulling from memory possibly heard from prime time cable news, not exactly sure on it though.

If this is true, you have a good group of people spilling the beans out of program that only a had/has handful of groups that knew about it or had security to be in the know. So with this little variable it makes this story very interesting.

[Toots]

5. Didn't Bush* revoke all of Congress's Security Clearances except for a

very select few? I remember reading something about that a while back. Only the Chairman and Minority Leader of Intelligence Committee now have Clearance.

[fujiyama]

14. I heard that too

and found it extremely disturbing. It means that the agency has absolutely NO oversight from congress, meaning that it is more or less operating as a rogue agency at the whim of the executive branch.

That's what makes this issue of unchecked executive power so important with the Alito's hearings and I appreciate Feingold making it the issue it deserves to be.

[gratuitous]

3. Well, that's settled

So now, the Justice Department can leave off that investigation ordered by Chimpy, and, I dunno, dedicate a little manpower to the question of why the Executive was circumventing the law in the first place. I think the first witness they should interview might be this guy named Russell Tice. I think he used to work at the NSA, and might have some very useful information about a few high crimes and misdemeanors.

Let's see how tough Bush is on crime.

[librechik]

13. there were a dozen sources

I doubt they will stop the "investigation" as long as it provides cover for ShrubCo.

[librechik]

12. ok, will Tice get a fair trial?

has he even broken any laws? I believe he was a "former" official when he spoke to Risen.

I hope he doesn't disappear into the Gitmo monster (or whatever)--that's the abuse he was trying to blow the whistle on!

With a fair trial, though we get subpoena power and discovery--against them!

geez, what next--this will never get to open trial.