James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, lied to a Senate committee in March, in response to a question from Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). “Does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?” Wyden had asked. To which Clapper replied: “No, sir.”
Called out on that denial in the wake of the phone-monitoring revelations, Clapper told NBC News: “I responded in what I thought was the most truthful, or least untruthful, manner by saying ‘no.'” Clapper said he didn’t view the captured and stored metadata records as a “collection” if they weren’t looked at. — Information Week
Without the actions of Edward Snowden, we’d still believe that Clapper fellow, wouldn’t we? Now the world knows the truth, thanks to someone who abandoned everything from a $120K/year job to the proverbial smokin’-hot girlfriend in order to bring the American government’s treachery to the attention of the American people.
No doubt, the Obama administration would like to have Snowden killed. Unfortunately for said administration, it’s too late to kill him without raising eyebrows. Better to use the hand-in-glove relationship they enjoy with a tame media that permits everything from lying (to it) to spying (on it) — to send some character assassination Mr. Snowden’s way. If you can’t kill the man, kill his reputation…