On Aug. 21, while the Obama Administration was making yet another disclosure of its previously secret surveillance activity, Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn) sent a letter to President Obama, seeking a hearing for the entire Senate, classified or open, on the "totality of NSA operations" by September 13.
Corker, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, expressed great frustration with the fact that the Administration's briefings, over the last three months, have functioned as explanations after leaks in the newspapers.
He said: "As a result, members of Congress regularly read new revelations on the front pages of various newspapers. Even more troubling, members of Congress are left to wonder why the prior briefings provided by the Executive Branch did not cover the material contained in these articles."
Corker requested a "full briefing led by ... General Keith Alexander,"
discussing "all collections and activities pursuant to statutory or other authorities, including but not limited to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, as modified by the USA PATRIOT Act and the FISA Amendments Act, and Executive order 12,333."
