Deputy Attorney General James Cole of the US Department of Justice testified during a House Judiciary Committee hearing which was examining proposals to reform the NSA surveillance policies that have been revealed in an ongoing series of disclosures since June. Among the most damning revelations leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden was the realization that the NSA indiscriminately forces companies to provide phone records belonging to millions of Americans.
Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA.) pressed Cole Tuesday on whether the NSA dragnet includes the number codes that pertain to congressional offices.
"Mr. Cole, do you collect 202-225 and four digits afterwards?" Issa asked, as quoted by the National Journal.
"We probably do, Mr. Congressman," Cole replied. "But we're not allowed to look at any of those, however, unless we have reasonable, articulable suspicion that those numbers are related to a known terrorist threat."
Comment: Securo-speak translation: "Yes, we spy on members of Congress, and we use the information gleaned to control them."
Comment: Texas is not the only state whose water supply has been poisoned by the fracking oil companies:
Explosive Methane Gas Found in Some New York Wells
Methane Gas Is Contaminating Drinking Water (Pennsylvania and New York)
Flammable Tap Water Ignites Concern In Hudson (Colorado)