Congress grills NSA chief Keith Alexander about spying

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http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/06/12/193759/congress-grills-nsa-chief-keith.html



Gen. Keith B. Alexander, director of the National Security Agency and head of the U.S. Cyber Command testifies on Capitol Hill

Congress grills NSA chief Keith Alexander about spying
By David Lightman | McClatchy Newspapers
Posted on Wednesday, June 12, 2013

WASHINGTON — Increasingly uneasy senators subjected Gen. Keith Alexander, the head of the National Security Agency, to a tough grilling Wednesday as congressional concern grew over his agency’s cybersnooping.

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But in his first public appearance before lawmakers since controversy erupted over the programs, senators peppered him with questions about how far the spying went and how far it could go. Great Britain’s newspaper The Guardian reported that one program involves cellphone records, and The Guardian and The Washington Post reported that another program permits the government access to the online activity of users at nine Internet companies.

Committee Chairman Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., tried to discourage questions about the controversy. The hearing’s subject was supposed to be the cybersecurity budget. At one point, she responded to a tweeter who complained during the hearing that she was trying to stifle such questions, saying she was doing no such thing.

She couldn’t keep her colleagues from dwelling on the subject, as they demonstrated throughout the two-hour session that they’re increasingly concerned, or at least more curious, about the programs. Earlier in the week, lawmakers tended to be supportive, but the drumbeat of revelations – and unanswered questions – appeared to be slowly altering their mood.