Have the Dems grilling Gonzo brought up NSA spying began BEFORE 9/11??

[Roland99]

Bush Authorized Domestic Spying Before 9/11
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/011306Z.shtml

The National Security Agency advised President Bush in early 2001 that it had been eavesdropping on Americans during the course of its work monitoring suspected terrorists and foreigners believed to have ties to terrorist groups, according to a declassified document.

The NSA's vast data-mining activities began shortly after Bush was sworn in as president and the document contradicts his assertion that the 9/11 attacks prompted him to take the unprecedented step of signing a secret executive order authorizing the NSA to monitor a select number of American citizens thought to have ties to terrorist groups.

...

What had long been understood to be protocol in the event that the NSA spied on average Americans was that the agency would black out the identities of those individuals or immediately destroy the information.

But according to people who worked at the NSA as encryption specialists during this time, that's not what happened. On orders from Defense Department officials and President Bush, the agency kept a running list of the names of Americans in its system and made it readily available to a number of senior officials in the Bush administration, these sources said, which in essence meant the NSA was conducting a covert domestic surveillance operation in violation of the law.

Just curious. Haven't been able to listen to any of the hearings other than a few video clips.

[savemefromdumbya]

1. I didn't think it was highlighted?

[stop the bleeding]

2. I don't think so - but I could have missed it n/t

[Darkhawk32]

3. What an absolutely wonderful question!! K&R !! n/t

[BR_Parkway]

4. Sounded like Feingold was setting the scene to bring it up later

with all the specific questions on when did someone think it would work, think it was legal, etc..

[Roland99]

5. Why, yes it is, isn't it?

;)