NSA Spy Program Targets Israel, Congress
So much for scaling back surveillance. The Wall Street Journal just reported that the Obama administration has been monitoring communications by the US’s closest ally in the Middle East, Israel. Making matters even worse, the surveillance has included private conversations with members of Congress.
The National Security Agency’s targeting of Israeli leaders and officials also swept up the contents of some of their private conversations with U.S. lawmakers and American-Jewish groups. That raised fears—an “Oh-s— moment,” one senior U.S. official said—that the executive branch would be accused of spying on Congress.
White House officials believed the intercepted information could be valuable to counter Mr. Netanyahu’s campaign. They also recognized that asking for it was politically risky. So, wary of a paper trail stemming from a request, the White House let the NSA decide what to share and what to withhold, officials said. “We didn’t say, ‘Do it,’ ” a senior U.S. official said. “We didn’t say, ‘Don’t do it.’ ”
Whether they said “do it” or not, this is a major embarrassment for the Obama administration. Using national security resources to gain a political advantage is something that should be off limits, paper trail or no.
