Evan Perez at the WSJ writes today on a Senate Intelligence Committee report that came out yesterday. The report discusses letters under which telecommunications companies like AT&T and Verizon turned over customer information to the National Security Agency without warrants:
The letters were provided to electronic communication service providers at regular intervals. All of the letters stated that the activities had been authorized by the President. All of the letters also stated that the activities had been determined to be lawful by the Attorney General, except for one letter that covered a period of less than sixty days. That letter, which like all the others stated that the activities had been authorized by the President, stated that the activities had been determined to be lawful by the Counsel to the President.
Barry Barnett