NSA spied on American journalists for Bush administration

January 22, 7:29 AMCivil Liberties ExaminerJ.D. Tuccille

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In a tale of widespread, warrantless wiretapping, Russell Tice, a former National Security Agency analyst, claimed that the Bush administration engaged in extensive electronic surveillance of Americans. His revelations were made on Keith Olbermann's MSNBC show. The eavesdropping was extensive, the former spook says, revealing enormous -- though not unlimited -- NSA capabilities when it comes to listening in on electronic communications. According to Tice:

The National Security Agency had access to all Americans' communications -- faxes, phone calls, and their computer communications.

Of particular interest to the Bush administration, says Tice, were "U.S. news organizations and reporters and journalists." That continues a pattern of surveillance of the news media. Just months ago, the FBI apologized for eavesdropping on the phone calls of reporters working for the Washington Post and New York Times. The surveillance detailed by Tice would seem to go further.

Tice's revelations come after earlier reports, details of which are in James Bamford's latest book, that the NSA was intercepting the international phone calls of journalists, military personnel and civilian aid workers.

Olbermann asks if Barack Obama's new administration can put a stop to this eavesdropping. The bigger question, of course, is if the latest gaggle of politicians even wants to curb such surveillance.

Contact J.D.: civilliberties (at) tuccille.com