The Compost momentarilary dropped their Praetorian Press status to do some real reporting :
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The National Security Agency has broken privacy rules or overstepped its legal authority thousands of times each year since Congress granted the agency broad new powers in 2008, according to an internal audit and other top-secret documents.
Most of the infractions involve unauthorized surveillance of Americans or foreign intelligence targets in the United States, both of which are restricted by statute and executive order. They range from significant violations of law to typographical errors that resulted in unintended interception of U.S. e-mails and telephone calls.
NSA broke privacy rules thousands of times per year, audit finds - The Washington Post
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The NSA audit obtained by The Post, dated May 2012, counted 2,776 incidents in the preceding 12 months of unauthorized collection, storage, access to or distribution of legally protected communications.
In other words the audit results were completed during the 2012 election cycle and was withheld from the public . Not only that ,but they withheld the results from the highest ranking members of Congress .
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Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who did not receive a copy of the 2012 audit until The Post asked her staff about it, said in a statement late Thursday that the committee “can and should do more to independently verify that NSA's operations are appropriate, and its reports of compliance incidents are accurate.”
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The causes and severity of NSA infractions vary widely. One in 10 incidents is attributed to a typographical error in which an analyst enters an incorrect query and retrieves data about U.S phone calls or e-mails.
But the more serious lapses include unauthorized access to intercepted communications, the distribution of protected content and the use of automated systems without built-in safeguards to prevent unlawful surveillance.
The May 2012 audit, intended for the agency's top leaders, counts only incidents at the NSA's Fort Meade headquarters and other facilities in the Washington area. Three government officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss classified matters, said the number would be substantially higher if it included other NSA operating units and regional collection centers.
Clearly the requirement to run some of these ops past the FISA court was no road block ,or even a speed bump for that matter .
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In another case, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which has authority over some NSA operations, did not learn about a new collection method until it had been in operation for many months. The court ruled it unconstitutional.
Before he went on his excellent vacation ,the emperor held a presser where he proposed a 'national conversation' about NSA surveillance . Then he proposed some cosmetic changes to the agency .
How the President's Message on NSA Spying Has Evolved - NationalJournal.com
Here's one he could do immediately... force the agency to operate under EXISTING laws and restraints .