http://www.washingto...99ff459_blog.html
SEN. RON WYDEN (D-Ore.): ÂThis is for you, Director Clapper, again on the surveillance front. And I hope we can do this in just a yes or no answer because I know Senator Feinstein wants to move on. Last summer, the NSA director was at a conference, and he was asked a question about the NSA surveillance of Americans. He replied, and I quote here, ÂThe story that we have millions or hundreds of millions of dossiers on people is completely false.Â
ÂThe reason IÂm asking the question is, having served on the committee now for a dozen years, I donÂt really know what a dossier is in this context. So what I wanted to see is if you could give me a yes or no answer to the question, does the NSA collect any type of data at all on millions or hundreds of millions of Americans?Â
Director of National Intelligence JAMES CLAPPER: ÂNo, sir.Â
SEN. WYDEN: ÂIt does not?Â
DIR. CLAPPER: ÂNot wittingly. There are cases where they could inadvertently perhaps collect, but not wittingly.Â
SEN. WYDEN: ÂThank you. IÂll have additional questions to give you in writing on that point, but I thank you for the answer.Â
 exchange during a hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee, March 12, 2013
Clapper was between a rock and a hard place. Wyden said he wanted a yes or no answer. It was an open session. There was no way for him to accurately describe what the NSA on this front does without either: 1) giving up classified information about "sources and methods" in an open session, or 2) giving a misleading answer.
Wyden knew the best way to get a complete, straight answer from Clapper about the details.
Now maybe Clapper has been misleading the committee about what the NSA has been doing. If that's the case, then by all means go after him (and the NSA). But I don't think that this was the way to do it.
And if this is the best example of Clapper "lying to Congress" then he's been a very good boy. Everyone testifying to Congress shades the truth to their best advantage - it's human and institutional nature. That's why Congress should get testimony from a variety of viewpoints...
FWIW.
Cheers,
Scott.