NSA Collected U.S. Phone Records Without Authorization—Again

The National Security Agency has once again collected records about U.S. calls and text messages that it wasn’t authorized to obtain, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. In a second such incident, the NSA wrongly collected the numbers and time stamps of calls and text messages in October of last year—though it reportedly didn’t obtain the content of the conversations. The documents showing the previously undisclosed move were obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union and reviewed by the Journal. NSA media-relations chief Greg Julian admitted the error, saying: “While NSA lawfully sought data pertaining to a foreign power engaged in international terrorism, the provider produced inaccurate data and data beyond which NSA sought.” Patrick Toomey, an ACLU staff attorney, said: “These documents only confirm that this surveillance program is beyond redemption and should be shut down for good.”