http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/dec/22/congress-divided-on-nsa-snooping-but-not-snowden/
Rep. Peter T. King, New York Republican, called Mr. Snowden a “defector and a traitor,” and made no apologies for the NSA’s programs. He said the agency has not abused its power and suggested that the Sept. 11 attacks could have been thwarted if the phone data collection program were in place at the tim
“I live in New York,” the Republican told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “I lost some 150 friends, neighbors ad constituents on Sept. 11. If the NSA had had this metadata in 2001, that attack probably would not have happened.”
Lawmakers will face renewed debate about the extent of government snooping, and whether it violates Americans’ constitutional rights against illegal search and seizure, when they return to Washington from their holiday recess.
The administration breathed additional life into the debate Saturday with the release of documents that outline how the bulk collection of phone and Internet data began.
National Intelligence Director James R. Clapper said
President George W. Bush authorized the spying shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks and extended the records collection through presidential orders until the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act required a secret court to authorize the collection, according to The Associated Press.
