Greenwald Mocks NSA ‘Robust Oversight’ - Congress ‘Being Forced To Learn About NSA In Our Reporting'

[David Krout]

27. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md) and Senator Durbin (D-Mi) pooh-poohed these briefings you love

“This ‘fully briefed’ is something that drives us up the wall,” Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland) told Politico, “because often ‘fully briefed’ means a group of eight leadership; it does not necessarily mean relevant committees.”


Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) told Politico that members of Congress usually “don’t receive this kind of briefing.”


Lawmakers wouldn’t have known about the programs unless they sat on an intelligence committee, attended special sessions (which haven’t taken place in the last two years) or specifically asked to be briefed–which can only happen if someone else first tips them off about some secret operation.

http://www.allgov.com/news/top-stories/lawmakers-refute-obamas-claim-that-full-congress-knew-about-nsa-program-130612?news=850274