The NSA expressed regret and that it was looking into the matter.
Dado Ruvic / Reuters
According to recent court filings viewed by Politico, The National Security Agency destroyed surveillance data it had promised to preserve in connection with pending lawsuits. Additionally, the NSA reportedly did not take steps it had told a federal court it was taking in order to ensure that the information was not destroyed. The NSA told U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey White in a filing this week that it did not preserve internet communications that were intercepted between 2001 and 2007, as part of a set of court orders regarding surveillance efforts during the Bush administration. “NSA senior management is fully aware of this failure, and the Agency is committed to taking swift action to respond to the loss of this data," NSA's deputy director of capabilities wrote in a court document.