Obama Administration Releases Surveillance Documents

05:18

July 31, 2013

This photograph made Thursday, July 6, 2013 in Washington shows a copy of the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court order requiring Verizon on an "ongoing, daily basis," to give the National Security Administration (NSA) information on all landline and mobile telephone calls of Verizon Business in its systems, both within the U.S. and between the U.S. and other countries. (AP)

The Obama administration has released once-secret documents relating to government surveillance programs.

In June, Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor accused of leaking classified information, revealed the collection of phone records by government surveillance programs.

The original order to phone companies, issued in April by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, requested phone records on the calls of millions of Americans.

At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today, lawmakers questioned top Obama administration officials about the NSA's surveillance programs.

The House narrowly rejected a proposal last week that would have effectively shut down the collection of Americans' phone records.

Guest

Siobhan Gorman, intelligence correspondent for the Wall Street Journal. She tweets @Gorman_Siobhan.

This segment aired on July 31, 2013.

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