today is the first one and we're going to hear general alexander and director clapper testify. >> what we do not do is spy unlawfully on americans or for that matter, spy indiscriminately on the citizens of any country. we only "spy" for valid intelligence purposes as authorized by law with multiple layers of oversight to ensure we do not abuse our authorities. >> nsa's programs have contributed to understanding and disrupting 54 terror-related events, 25 in europe, 11 in asia, five in africa, and 13 in the united states. this was no accident. this was not coincidence. that claim was challenged a week later. >> we've heard over and over again the assertion that 54 terrorist plots were thwarted by the use of 215 and 702. that's plainly wrong. these weren't all plots and they weren't all thwarted. the american people are getting left with inaccurate impressions of the effectiveness of the nsa programs. would you agree that the 54 cases that keep getting cited by the administration were not full plots? yes or no? >> yes. >> we're talking about massive, massive, massive collection. we're t

director of national intelligence james clapper james clapper,, deputy attorney the deputyes cole, director of the nsa, chris inglis. we will move immediately into the second panel of non- governmental experts knowledgeable on fisa issues. we will discuss possible changes to the way fisa applications are handled by the department of justice. i hope all of our witnesses will give clear answers about how proposals under consideration at congress would affect the nsa's ability to stop terrorist attacks. i am going to submit my statement for the record in order to ask some questions following the opening statement and your opening statements in relation to some of the news of the day to get some things clarified for the record. it will be important for the american people. .e do expect a vote we will hold as long as we can. we will take a brief intermission. there are only two votes. we should be able to recess or a short time and return. i will recognize any opening comment. for comingu, panel, here today. hopefully, we will get the facts on the table and let the american people understand wha

mike rogers was asking keep alexander as well as national director of intelligence james clapper abouthether the white house was aware of activity. here is the exchange. [video clip] ,> those screenshots that show or at least lead people to believe we, nsa, or the united states, collected that information, is false. and it is false that it was collected on european citizens. it was neither. >> well, it certainly has created an international rows, but what i would argue is very poor, and accurate reporting. something that we are going to have to deal with here in the future. i'm glad you clarified that. mr. clapper, i am going to ask you this, giving the recent row about leaders that may or may not have been collected or numbers that may have been in the possession of the u.s. what if,ence services, in fact, any value of that information found its way to the national security council in the white house? >> it certainly could. i would rather not speak specifically, but speaking in totality, clearly leadership an importante dimension of the landscape for policymakers whether the white hou

also available online anytime at c-span.org. >>> earlier this week national intelligence director james clapper and nsa director-general keith alexander discussed the nsa surveillance program and spying on foreign governments in testimony before the house intelligence committee hearing this week. you can see that hearing tomorrow beginning at 10 a.m. eastern on our come pan one network, c-span. >>> tuesday, carol ga lawn at this, said before the house financial services committee a recent $1.7 billion cash infusion by the treasury department was required by law but based on outdated housing market data. republicans accused the fha failing to comply with federal law and misleading congress in previous hearings. they became a source of home mortgage credit in housing crisis and fha blamed losses during that period for its recent short fall. >> committee will come to order. without objection the chair is authorized to declare a recess of the committee at anytime. the hear something entitled, the federal housing administration implications of a $1.7 billion taxpayer bailout. i recognize myself for

. >> the director of national intelligence, the obama administration's director james clapper testified to that effect earlier this year. the director general of international atomic energy agency in his reports has essentially said the same thing. the sanctions are hurting the iranian middle class. just so viewers understand is the part of the iranian population most opposed to the regime of the ayatollah. so the accuracy of the sanctions is something you can question. we're hurting the people who actually share our view that this regime needs to go. >> iran's new president said that not allowing iran to enrich uranium as it is is a red line not to be crossed. aren't we right where we were with mahmoud ahmadinejad? >> they are advancing their program and they know it. if they can get a small reduction in the sanctions, they put the administration in a very, very difficult position. remember, u.s. law requires countries be steadily reducing their imports of iranian oil or u.s. sanctions then apply to them. a number of countries have been indicating they have gone down as far as they are

we have had a response frome gog director clapper they willng start court meeting with the irs. most people would say that is a no-brainer you would want to check it is in the paid form have you paid your taxes but it looks like m nobody ever cross reference that with the irs.e nobody checked to see if thes ae data was accurate. so i guess my question is said by final point is this. expectat creating the exhortationtative e your clearance is tentative on the baousis of you passing t some type of renewal and and that not knowing when that will be, the cia used to have random polygraph tests.andom they don't even have that. i can pass any polygraph test i was to drugs id me and you will never know it.vironmenm we will be tobe create an empire to lessen the number of people that need clearance reid do better tohen e clear them that created expectation you will be randomly checked to see if you still deserve to have the clearance.eserve the that is the system and theearan. details of not saying it'sult. but not difficult but how we ingng and how much it cost to hold contractors avai

number three, we had a response from director clapper that they're going to start coordinating with the i.r.s. most people would say, that's kind of a no-brainer. that would be one of the things you would want to check. it's in the form, have you paid your taxes, but it looks to me nobody ever cross-referenced that with the i.r.s. nobody ever checked to see if that data is accurate and all that is a computer check. my final point is, creating the expectations that your clearance is tentative on the basis of you passing some type of renewal and not know when that's going to be, the c.i.a. used to have random polygraph tests. they don't even have random polygraph tests. you're noticed. i can pass any polygraph test with two drugs in me and you won't ever know it and so the fact is we need to create an environment where, number one, we lessen the number of people that need a clearance. we do a whole lot better of clearing. and then we need to create the expectation that you will be randomly checked to see if in fact you still deserve the clearance. and the details are difficult. i'm not sa

filed a lawsuit against the director of national intelligence james clapper calling for an end to this domestic spying as it by lates numerous constitutional rights again that lawsuit was filed one week after the first edward snowden disclosure back in june and tomorrow on friday that suit will receive its stay in court when government lawyers will have to square off with the a.c.l.u. in a federal courtroom in new york city and for the first time this they will have to defend in public court the n.s.a.'s telephone metadata spying program and what comes out of that hearing could have enormous impacts on how the n.s.a. currently operates joining me now to talk more about the case and its consequences is bred max kaufman legal fellow with the american civil liberties union national security project welcome to the show thanks for having me so break it down for us what's at the core of what the a.c.l.u. will be arguing in court tomorrow. so we're in court tomorrow challenging the section to fifteen bulk phone record collection program as you just described it was the first revelation by edw

>> i would echo the comments recently of director clapper who characterized them as extremely damaging. there's no doubt that those disclosures have made our job harder. we've seen that terrorists, our adversaries are seeking to learn about the ways that we collect intelligence and seeking to adapt ask change the -- and change the ways they communicate in order to avoid our surveillance. so it's made our job significantly harder. >> how cowe repair the damage of it? director comey? what does congress need to do? what do we need to resist, potentially? >> i agree with what matt said about the challenge. just in two months on the job, i've seen changes in terrorist behavior in response to the disclosures about our communications intercept capabilities. i think that congress just needs to make sure that we don't if there are changes that need to be made at the margins or in oversight, that we don't make those at the expense of the core capabilities we need as a country. >> secretary beers, what is your biggest concern that congress might do that would just be a huge mistake? >> i think di

number three, we've had response from the director clapper they're going -- start coordinating with the irs. that is the most people would say that's a kind of no-brainer. that's one of the things you want check. it's in the form. after you paid your taxes. looks like nobody ever cross referenced with that the irs. nobody checked to see with the data is accurate. all that is is a computer check. i guess my question to you, and my final point is this: creating the expectations that your clearance is tentive on the basis that you pass some type of renewal and not knowing when it's going to be, the cia used to have random polygraph tests. they don't even have random polygraphed tests. they are noticed. i can pass it with two drugs in me. you'll never know it. we need to create an environment, number one, we lessen the number of people that need a clearance. we do a lot better clearing and create the expectations you're going to be randomly checked to see, if in fact, you deserve to have the clearance. that's the system. and the details are different -- i'm not saying it's not difficult, bu

number three, we had a response from director clapper that they're going to start coordinating with the i.r.s. most people would say, that's kind of a no-brainer. that would be one of the things you would want to check. it's in the form, have you paid your taxes, but it looks to me nobody ever cross-referenced that with the i.r.s. nobody ever checked to see if that data is accurate and all that is a computer check. my final point is, creating the expectations that your clearance is tentative on the basis of you passing some type of renewal and not know when that's going to be, the c.i.a. used to have random polygraph tests. they don't even have random polygraph tests. you're noticed. i can pass any polygraph test with two drugs in me and you won't ever know it and so the fact is we need to create an environment where, number one, we lessen the number of people that need a clearance. we do a whole lot better of clearing. and then we need to create the expectation that you will be randomly checked to see if in fact you still deserve the clearance. and the details are difficult. i'm not sa

they and clapper, the director of national intelligence, that is who is defending this major function that protects the united states and believe me, we would not have had no serious attack on the united states in all of these years, these 12 years since 9/11, without this agency doing just incredible work, lou, in protecting us. and yet they stand there having to take all these fuselage of assaults on them by themselves with the director trying to protect them. and it's just not right. the administration should put their arms around this, tell them to go back to work and we'll take care of this. but that's not happening. >> general, thanks for being with us. general jack keane. >> always good talking to you, lou. >>> up next, he was endorsed by tea party favorite senator rand pull, but will it be enough to overcome the political money machine? virginia's attorney general and gubernatorial candidate ken cuccinelli joins me here next. we're coming right back. >>> a week until the virginia gubernatorial election, president bill clinton on the campaign trail or democratic candidate terry

. >> reporter: and it was a director of national intelligence james clapper and nsa chief general keith alexander fielding the tough questions about surveillance and spying in another congressional meeting this week. >> some of this reminds me a lot of the classic movie "casa bank can, my god, there is gamble going on here. it's the same kind of thin thing{^l" ^}. >> reporter: does the president know as much as he should, and is he in control of his administration. as he reaches for the legacy of a successful second term, is he staying above the fray. here to discuss president obama's second term and the rosenberg. he was an adviser to former president bill clinton. in new york, jeff lefkowitz isn't to president obama, and served as bush administration envoy to north korea. and author of recent book "jockeying for the american presidency: the political opportunism." you worked in the white house, how bad was this past week? >> i would say this is as bad as it's been for president obama. coming off the heels having stared down john boehner the government shutdown and debt limit issue, i

however, if an interview earlier this year, james clapper, the director of national intelligence saids very deeply about our privacy, and civil liberties, adding i think a lot of what people are reading and seeing in the media is hyperbole. the persons don't end with the fact that private information is being stored in a database. there is also concern about how that information is actually being used. those fears were heightened when it was recently revealed that the nsa has been turning over information to domestic law enforcement agencies. john shipman is a reporter who broke the story. >> the information that the nsa provides to law enforcement they send it to a special operations unit in virginia. and that sends information out to the dea, the irs, the atf, the fbi, and use that information to make cases against americans. >> like most everything involving the nsa the special operations division is cloaked in secrecy. according to one document, it strictly forbids those who receive nsa information from revealing its true source. shipman describes one scenario. >> it will pass the

what do you make in capitol hill testimony this week the director of national intelligence james clapper indicated that surveillance of leaders was not significant enough to require congress to know about it. well i had a fairly heated exchange over this very topic yesterday because i think plainly it is the kind of significant intelligence activity that must be briefed to congress in the area in an analogous area of covert action when the administration wants to undertake a covert action and there's the possibility that that covert action could blow back on us if it was discovered those are the things that are routinely briefed to the intelligence committees and for good reason but this similarly you have that potential as we're seeing you know very much manifest right now so that's precisely the kind of thing that should be briefed to the committees and i wasn't confident with the answer i got from the director yesterday that the intelligence community sees it the same way i asked very specifically would the tapping of a foreign leader be a significant intelligence activity that would

to ask about the special order you're likely not to find out too much in fact director of national intelligence james clapper was questioned in october about violations of the program at a senate judiciary committee hearing here's experience change with minnesota senator amy closer shark. because you can see and i was the senator is that the subject matter of the hearing was to fifteen and seventy two and these twelve eilish and over ten years the curd under the foreign collection under them on under the auspices of executive order twelve triple three is this we are that we were kind of broadly asking questions and it would have been nice to have heard about it there. senator dianne feinstein who's been a vocal supporter of the n.s.a. says that more transparency is needed over this order and she's encouraging the passage of a bill that would require increased congressional oversight including a full breakdown of the guidelines that govern its use. and this week the white house correspondents association along with thirty seven news organizations called out the obama administration for its heavy restrictions

they and clapper, the director of national intelligence, that is who is defending this major functionotects the united states and believe me, we would not have had no serious attack on the united states in all of these years, these 12 years since 9/11, without this agency doing just incredible work, lou, in protecting us. and yet they stand there having to take all these fuselage of assaults on them by themselves with the director trying to protect them. and it's just not right. the administration should put their arms around this, tell them to go back to work and we'll take care of this. but that's not happening. >> general, thanks for being with us. general jack keane. >> always good talking to you, lou. >>> up next, he was endorsed by tea party favorite senator rand pull, but will it be enough to overcome the political money machine? virginia's attorney general and gubernatorial candidate ken cuccinelli joins me here next. cuccinelli joins me here next. we're coming right back. so ally bank has a raise your rate cd that wothat's correct.a rate. cause i'm really nervous about gettin

. >> woodruff: we had planned to bring you an interview with the director of national intelligence, james clapperight. it has been delayed while he holds meetings with lawmakers on capitol hill. we will reschedule. >> woodruff: another milestone was reached today in disarming syria's chemical weapons stockpile. jeffrey brown has that story. >> the syrian government has completed what we called functional destruction of its entire chemical weapons making apparatus. >> reporter: the confirmation came from the organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons, which won the nobel peace prize this month. the group has been working, under a u.n. mandate, to ensure that syria's chemical weapons- making facilities were put out of commission, by november first. >> so it no longer has the capacity to manufacture new chemical weapons agents and has not the capacity to utilize the precursor binary chemicals for sarin gas and to load those into munitions. >> reporter: the organization inspected 21 declared production sites. fighting between rebels and the syrian army made two other sites too risky to reac

last week, director of national intelligence james clapper wrote to the senate intelligence committees noting his support for the closure of guantanamo in which he offered the following examples of how al qaeda and its affiliates continue to reference guantanamo in furtherance of their global jihadist goals. al qaeda leader iman zawahiri in an audio statement in july of this year cited the detention without trial of gitmo prisoners as one indication of american hypocrisy and indiscriminate persecution of innocent muslims. in an article about the boston marathon bombings, in the most recent edition of al qaeda -- well, al qaeda in the arabian peninsula's "inspire" magazine -- this is sort of a diabolical magazine that al qaeda puts out. this is the one published in june. it highlighted the ongoing detention of prisoners at gitmo as one of the purported justifications of terrorist attacks like 9/11 and the boston marathon bombings. here's what the article said, and i quote -- "if we note down all that has been and is still being carried out by america against muslim nations, we will run

consent that letters from secretary hagel, secretary kerry, attorney general and the -- and director clapper be put in the record at this point. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. under the previous order, the question occurs on the ayotte amendment number 2255. mr. levin: ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote: the presiding officer: on this society, the yeas a 43, the nays are 55. under the previous order requiring 60 votes for the adoption of this amendment, the amendment is agreed -- is not agreed to. is not agreed to. under the previous order, there will be two minutes equally divided prior to a vote on the levin-mccain amendment 2175. the senate will be in order. the senate will be in order. the senator from michigan. mr. levin: madam president -- the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. mr. levin: this amendment, ways levin-mccain -- the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. please take your conversations outside. the senator from michiga