Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has been generally supportive of the National Security Agency, over which she plays a top oversight role as the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, praising its chief and calling Edward Snowden’s leaks “an act of treason.” But the past week of revelations about U.S. eavesdropping practices – particularly allegations that the NSA may have tapped German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cellphone – seem to have pushed her too far.
Feinstein’s office released an unequivocally critical statement Monday evening, saying she is “totally opposed” to spying on the leaders of allied countries and calling for a “total review” of U.S. intelligence programs. She calls the reported monitoring of Merkel’s cellphone “a big problem.” That might not sound like particularly severe language, but it’s a significant turn for Feinstein, who’s been an important ally for the Obama administration in the past months of controversy of U.S. spying programs. Her congressional oversight committee, she says, “was not satisfactorily informed.”
Source: Washington Post
