Serious question about US spying agencies.

[paleotn]

7. Rest assured, if those conversations took place, they were intercepted.

That's the relatively easy part and something US intel is extraordinarily well equipped for. The kind of money we spend on intel every year buys a whole cornucopia of capabilities. The tricky part is doing something about it when one half of the conversation is a US citizen. That can get messy. No crime to call up Vlad and just discuss the weather in Moscow. Hard to believe anyone in their right mind would say..."hey, Vlad, lets discuss our plan to bring down the US government!" Then again, the hubris of these people astounds me. And it's hubris that usually puts people in jail.