NSA's collecting calls sparks uproar

Phone companies have turned over records of tens of millions of calls.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Lawmakers demanded answers from the Bush administration Thursday about a spy agency secretly collecting records of millions of ordinary Americans' phone calls to build a database of all calls within the country.
Facing mounting congressional criticism, President Bush sought to assure Americans that their civil liberties were "fiercely protected."
"The government does not listen to domestic phone calls without court approval," said Bush, without confirming the program of the National Security Agency. "We're not mining or trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans."
The disclosure, reported in USA Today, could complicate Bush's bid to win confirmation of former National Security Agency Director Michael Hayden as CIA director. It also reignited concerns about privacy rights and touched off questions about the legal underpinnings for the government's actions and the diligence of the Republican-controlled Congress' oversight of a GOP administration.
"Everything that NSA does is lawful and very carefully done," Hayden said while making rounds at the Capitol to advocate for his confirmation. "The appropriate members of the Congress -- the House and Senate -- are briefed on all NSA activities."
Congressional reaction
The top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee said he was shocked by the reported activities.
"It's not one party's government. It's America's government. Those entrusted with great power have a duty to answer to Americans what they are doing," said Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont.
AT & amp;T Corp., Verizon Communications Inc., and BellSouth Corp. telephone companies began turning over records of tens of millions of their customers' phone calls to the NSA program shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, said USA Today, citing anonymous sources it said had direct knowledge of the arrangement.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said he would call the phone companies to appear before the panel in pursuit of what had transpired.
"We're really flying blind on the subject and that's not a good way to approach the Fourth Amendment and the constitutional issues involving privacy," Specter said of domestic surveillance in general.
Companies' assurances
The companies said Thursday they were protecting customers' privacy but also had an obligation to assist law enforcement and government agencies in ensuring the nation's security.
"We prize the trust our customers place in us. If and when AT & amp;T is asked to help, we do so strictly within the law and under the most stringent conditions," the company said in a statement, echoed by the others.
Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., said NSA was using the data to analyze calling patterns in order to detect and track suspected terrorist activity, according to information provided to him by the White House. "Telephone customers' names, addresses and other personal information have not been handed over to NSA as part of this program," he said.
Rep. Edward Markey of Massachusetts, ranking Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee's telecommunications and Internet panel, had a different view: "The NSA stands for Now Spying on Americans."
Claims about the existence of the program emerged earlier this year.
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