Feinstein Wants to Bar the Next Snowden From Accessing Classified Info Senate Intelligence Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein said something Thursday afternoon that might have defense contractors cringing. Speaking after a closed briefing for senators about the National Security Agency’s surveillance activities, the California Democrat signaled she would move to restrict the ability of contractors to access particularly sensitive classified information in the aftermath of the leaks by 29-year-old Edward Snowden, who was an employee of Booz Allen Hamilton. “We will certainly have legislation, which would limit or prevent contractors from handling highly classified technical data and we will do some other things,” Feinstein said when asked what comes next. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee, said he was unsure that legislation for contractors was needed, but he said that other steps could be taken. “I don’t know whether what we need to do needs to be done legislatively or not, but I think it’s pretty clear that we have to do a better job of making sure that our top-secret clearances go to only those individuals that deserve it and that we monitor all of those people who have a top-secret clearance from time to time, and we review their cases to determine whether or not there is any reason to suspect that they may have compromised U.S. intelligence in some way,” Chambliss said. “I have tasked Director Clapper to consider the program, to present some changes if he feels it necessary,” Feinstein said, in an apparent reference to the NSA operations disclosed following reporting on Snowden’s leaks by The Guardian and The Washington Post. “We would consider changes.” Feinstein said new information about terrorist acts thwarted by NSA programs could be released June 17. ~ Niels Lesniewski and Humberto Sanchez, Roll Call (Read more: blogs.rollcall/wgdb/congress-may-limit-contractor-access-to-classified-data-feinstein-says/)
Posted on: Fri, 14 Jun 2013 23:01:11 +0000
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