NSA Tries to Save Surveillance Program Before Vote
The National Security Agency held four hours worth of ‘top secret’ briefings Tuesday to lobby members of the House to continue funding its secret surveillance program, Roll Call reports.
First reported by the Huffington Post, the head of the NSA, Gen. Keith B. Alexander, urged House lawmakers during the two classified briefings to oppose an amendment from Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., that would defund the NSA’s blanket collection of telephone records.
Whatever was discussed did not change Amash’s mind about the program. A senior aide for Amash told CQ Roll Call on Tuesday afternoon that despite the unusual lobbying effort, the lawmaker had not changed his stance.