Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida said Thursday he disagrees with a new report that would roll back the National Security Agency’s phone records program, saying the program collects “business records” and requires a court order to get the actual content of calls.
The Florida lawmaker said the NSA needs court approval to obtain more than simple call logs, such as, for instance, when it sees that a terrorist suspect calls a certain number and it wants to know what’s being said.
He said some Americans have the misperception that the government is collecting conversations in bulk.
“And it isn’t,” he told MSNBC.
Mr. Nelson said he does not agree with Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, who said that National Intelligence Director James Clapper should resign over his comments to the Senate Intelligence Committee last March, in which he said the government does not collect bulk intelligence on Americans — at least “not wittingly.”
But he also predicted the debate over NSA snooping programs isn’t going away.
“It will be an issue that will go all the way to the Supreme Court,” Mr. Nelson said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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