The New York Timesreports today that Rep. Rush Holt (NJ-12) conveyed "considerable anger" in a letter addressed to National Security Agency director Keith B. Alexander that was released yesterday. Holt alleges "deception" on the part of the NSA, and has reason to feel misled.
The letter hasn't shown up yet in any of the usual outlets, but we'll update this space when it's available online. An excerpt from the Times below the fold.
Some Democrats say the administration bypassed the authority of Congress in ordering the eavesdropping. One congressman said he was actively misled. In a letter released Friday, Representative Rush D. Holt, a New Jersey Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, complained to the N.S.A. over what he described as deception by its director, Lt. Gen. Keith B. Alexander of the Army.
Mr. Holt, a physicist who has worked as an arms control specialist at the State Department, visited the agency on Dec. 6 for a briefing by General Alexander and agency lawyers about protecting Americans' privacy. The officials assured him, Mr. Holt said, that the agency singled out Americans for eavesdropping only under warrants from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.
After the program was disclosed, Mr. Holt wrote a blistering letter to General Alexander, expressing "considerable anger" over being misled. An agency spokesman, Don Weber, declined to comment on the letter.
