The National Security Agency under former President Barack Obama routinely violated American privacy protections while scouring through overseas intercepts and failed to disclose the extent of the problems until the final days before Donald Trump was elected president last fall, according to once top-secret documents that chronicle some of the most serious constitutional abuses to date by the U.S. intelligence community.
More than 5 percent, or one out of every 20 searches seeking upstream Internet data on Americans inside the NSA’s so-called Section 702 database violated the safeguards Obama and his intelligence chiefs vowed to follow in 2011, according to one classified internal report reviewed by Circa.
The Obama administration self-disclosed the problems at a closed-door hearing Oct. 26 before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that set off alarm. Trump was elected less than two weeks later.
The normally supportive court censured administration officials, saying the failure to disclose the extent of the violations earlier amounted to an “institutional lack of candor” and that the improper searches constituted a “very serious Fourth Amendment issue,” according to a recently unsealed court document dated April 26, 2017.
The admitted violations undercut one of the primary defenses that the intelligence community and Obama officials have used in recent weeks to justify their snooping into incidental NSA intercepts about Americans.
Do read the rest at Circa
Big Brother Obama is Watching You yes indeed Orwell was hitting the mail on the head with his book 1984 and Big Brother and Obama was spying on us for eight whole years
No doubt he only heard he did it from news reports.
Huh? The scandal free Obama administration with President O being a constitutional expert, this has got to be incorrect. No way Mr pure of heart and mind could allow such happenings.
Damn I cant even type that with a straight face.
Ethics, rules, law, constitution, check the wastebasket.
How are we ever going to clean out that vipers nest?
If the full truth is ever known, the level of violation of US citizens rights under the Obozo administration will be of the greatest magnitude that we have known in our history. It’ll easily surpass the Slick willie admin.
Just remember that song PRIVATE EYES ARE WATCHING YOU
Obama was probably more paranoid than we know.
@Mully: Dictators always are. Even wannabe dictators.
Yep. They were running enormous volumes of voice and other digital traffic through automated data mining software, in an effort to identify and flag communications and patterns suspicious of terrorist activity. Content remained anonymous unless it was red-flagged by the software for closer examination by human eyes, which could then lead to a FISA warrant authorizing focused surveillance. This was done in an effort to get ahead of events such as that which unfolded in Manchester earlier this week. Does this strike you as a bad idea? Are we safer now because the existence of the program was leaked?
Speaking of damaging leaks…
UK police suspend intelligence sharing with US over Manchester media leaks
Israel Alters Intelligence Sharing with US
Trump Condemns ‘Alleged Leaks,’ After Complaints From Britain
Yes, please do get to the bottom of this.
Defense officials are horrified that Trump told Duterte the locations of America’s nuclear submarines
@Greg: No doubt, at the bottom we will find an Obama disciple. That’s where bottom feeders dwell.
Liberals don’t care about security; you ALL proved that in your ongoing defense of Hillary’s mishandling of national security. Now, the leftist court STILL refuses to see the obvious and drop its partisan-driven objection to the travel ban. Everything takes a back seat to liberal partisan politics.
Disgusting.
@Bill- Deplorable Me, #9:
It’s the Trump administration that’s been leaking confidential and classified information like a sieve. Did Trump appoint Obama disciples? The fact of the matter is that he’s been telling tales out of school himself.
The Trumper’s tweet, responding to criticism for blowing somebody’s cover. Possibly Israel’s undercover informant is now dead as a result:
Inside the US effort to keep laptop bomb intel secret
Somebody ought to send this guy a “Loose lips sink ships” poster, or give him a crash course in how to be a president. Or maybe both.
Also, a handbook on basic etiquette wouldn’t hurt, along with repeated reminders that when you’re the President of the United States in the midst of a gathering of other important world leaders, cameras are rolling at all times, and your behavior reflects on the nation you represent. That cringe-worthy moment was videoed up by multiple news cameras and is now being seen be a world-wide audience.
@Greg:
It will not be Trump appointees that will be found to be leaking the information. It will be liberal government parasites that will be found to be doing the leaking. They do it to damage the government and, thus it is hoped, Trump.
Trump didn’t appoint Comey either, but you liberals cried and wailed when Trump got rid of him. You did the same when he got rid of the liberal obstructionist Sally Yates, who was again looking out for liberal interests (harm Trump) instead of doing her job, serving the American people.
So, your liberal tape worms that are stealing the nourishment of the government will be found out and will be dispatched. They won’t be allowed to retire with full and luxurious pensions; they’ll be fired. And liberals will whine some more.
Liberals don’t care about national security; they only care about wielding the power to oppress.
Another cringe-worthy moment. Trump publicly tells NATO members they owe tons of money. They haven’t been paying up. Then he pointedly fails to reaffirm the United State’s commitment to NATO’s mutual defense pact.
No one’s “account” is in arrears. Unlike the UN, NATO itself has no troops or military equipment. It’s a treaty organization. It’s military operations aren’t collectively funded by dues. Member nations contribute their own troops and equipment when another member is attacked or threatened. For example, member nations sent troops and materials to Afghanistan and Iraq in support of the United States following the 9/11 attacks.
He might have given such a speech at a UN gathering, since the UN does have military forces that do rely on collective funding. If he had done, somebody might have pointed out that the U.S. presently owes the UN around $3 billion.
Obama tells Russians Britain’s nuclear secrets
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/obama-trident-russia-Britain/2011/02/04/id/385059/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/wikileaks/8304654/WikiLeaks-cables-US-agrees-to-tell-Russia-Britains-nuclear-secrets.html
http://anotherblackconservative.blogspot.com/2011/02/backstabbin-brits-us-agrees-to-tell.html
@Bill… Deplorable Me, #12:
First you’ll have to find some who were present when the leaks occurred. Possibly there’s one hiding in Trump’s vest pocket.
Have you ever heard the phrase, thick as a brick? The leaks are coming from the Trump administration. Obama’s staff are no longer in the White House. They’re no longer attending White House meetings. Some people have probably misunderstood what they heard about Obama plants in the White House.
@Greg: Poor, pitiful, liberal idiots. They have nothing to hope for so they cling and thrive on false propaganda.
Looks like Trump joked around with the guy and when he turned around and recognized Trump, he smiles broadly and grabs Trump’s arm. Obviously, they know each other well.
Pitiful, weak losers all. We are blessed to no longer have the weakest excuse for a “leader” in the White House ever and have a TRUE leader out demonstrating US commitment to strength and protection. How many times has Trump been met with declarations of how glad other leaders are that weakness is no longer the coin of the realm and US strength and leadership is BACK.
@Greg: Your liberal traitors will not be able to hide for long. Those who love America can never understand how liberals prefer treachery to security.
@Greg:
Does being that damned stupid cause actual physical pain?
How many people were eavesdropped on in Watergate?
@kitt: #3
It is always easier to befoul a system than it is to clean it up.
Entropy at work.