Revealed: the top secret rules that allow NSA to use US data without a warrant

Fisa court submissions show broad scope of procedures governing NSA's surveillance of Americans' communication

• Document one: procedures used by NSA to target non-US persons
• Document two: procedures used by NSA to minimise data collected fro...

The top secret documents published today detail the circumstances in which data collected on US persons under the foreign intelligence authority must be destroyed, extensive steps analysts must take to try to check targets are outside the US, and reveals how US call records are used to help remove US citizens and residents from data collection.

However, alongside those provisions, the Fisa court-approved policies allow the NSA to:

• Keep data that could potentially contain details of US persons for up to five years;

• Retain and make use of "inadvertently acquired" domestic communications if they contain usable intelligence, information on criminal activity, threat of harm to people or property, are encrypted, or are believed to contain any information relevant to cybersecurity;

• Preserve "foreign intelligence information" contained within attorney-client communications;

• Access the content of communications gathered from "U.S. based machine[s]" or phone numbers in order to establish if targets are located in the US, for the purposes of ceasing further surveillance.

The broad scope of the court orders, and the nature of the procedures set out in the documents, appear to clash with assurances from President Obama and senior intelligence officials that the NSA could not access Americans' call or email information without warrants.

The documents also show that discretion as to who is actually targeted under the NSA's foreign surveillance powers lies directly with its own analysts, without recourse to courts or superiors – though a percentage of targeting decisions are reviewed by internal audit teams on a regular basis.

Read the rest HERE

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Comment by Patriot Horse on June 21, 2013 at 1:37am: Great post Krypke!!!

Comment by apeman2502 on June 20, 2013 at 10:28pm: The elected U.S. government is a 'breather'.

Comment by Misteri on June 20, 2013 at 9:36pm: I have to say I hear the generations older than myself talking and they are not real pleased with how things are going. They have a very strong value system and this bs is starting to upset a quite a few of them. Some of them are saying we have already lived the best part of our lives and whats left to lose now but our country.

Comment by Central Scrutinizer on June 20, 2013 at 7:19pm: Sheeple are waking up more than this me thinks after the convo I had today. Blows my mind the 180 these folk are doing all of a sudden. I went to the Moose club today to setup their new network system. The conversation of these elderly folk today blows my mind. The msm "news" came on and one guy said, "You can't believe these people anymore, its a big box of lies", 2 others nod in agreement. Now I know this guy well and this time last year he usually was the 1st guy to let somebody know that it was 5 O'clock and time to change the channel to the news. Now he's not too excited to change the channel....good for you Jack, I commend ya bud. YA, I think this place is turning around lately ;)