is top secret, but nonetheless, a senior administration official putting out a statement to cnn that read in part quote the information of the sort described in the guardian article has been a correct, al tool in protecting the nation from terrorist threats to the united states as it allows counterterrorism personnel to discover whether known or suspected terrorists have been in contact with other persons who may be engaged if terrorist activities, particularly people located inside the united states. again, this senior administration official emphasizing what we are talking about here is mefa-data such as time of call or length of call. this is not someone eavesdropping on the contents of a conversation. nonetheless, raising eyebrows even up on capitol hill, some lawmakers concerned, senator diane dine stein a short time ago defended this practice. this renewal is carried out by the fisa court under the business record section of the patriot act. therefore, it is lawful.
organizations who think this has definitely crossed the line from what the bush administration used to do. that s right. when you look back at what the bush administration did, yes, it was the same kind of activity that was more or less targeting phones overseas. so maybe communications between folks here in the united states and people overseas. but this is really focused internally within the united states. so raising a lot of questions there. but as you pointed out, senator feinstein a short time ago defending this practice and shedding a little bit more light on how it all works. as far as i know, this is the exact three-month renewal of what has been the case for the past seven years. this renewal is carried out by the court under the business record section of the patriot act. therefore, it is lawful. it has been briefed to congress. and officials pointing out that as part of this fiza system
terrorists. as far as i know, this is the exact three-month renewal of what has been the case for the past seven years. this renewal is carried out by the fiza court under the business record section of the patriot act. therefore, it is lawful. it has been briefed to congress. it is simply what we call metadata that is never utilized by any governmental agency unless they go back to the fiza court and show that there s real cause as to why something within the metadata should be looked at. so that s, i think, been very clear all along for the use of this program. it is proved meritorious because
overplayed. your thoughts as man who authored the patriot act? this is a really big deal. the business record section of patriot act were designed for specific investigations against specific individuals. i would see nothing wrong with targeting the phone records of somebody who is suspected of terrorism, but everybody who either sent or received a call from a from a verizon phone and maybe the other cellphone providers, that was never be the intent of the business records section. the business records section is set to expire in 2015. i want to find out who y they decided to have such a broad brush to bring in everybody. if we have to amend the patriot act before 2015 to stop this from happening, i m all for doing that. i m the author of the act. let me ask, i agree with the chairman.