The U.S. government says it is authorized to collect intelligence information of non-U.S.-based persons outside the country. The program does not allow the government to listen in on anyone’s phone calls, an intelligence official says. Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper criticized the unauthorized disclosure of the program as “reprehensible and risks important protections for the security of Americans” The Washington Post and the Guardian published a secret order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in Washington, D.C., which required Verizon to produce call records.”]
Source: https://www.csoonline.com/article/2133583/u-s–intelligence-chief-defends-surveillance-programs.html