McDonough: Obama Doesn't Think NSA Programs Violated Americans' Privacy
SCHIEFFER: Well, let me get you on the record here now. Does the president feel that he has violated the privacy of any American?
MCDONOUGH: He does not.
SCHIEFFER: You feel that that has been taken care of? You know, I think back to what Ronald Reagan used to say, "trust but verify." But in this situation, it seems to me the government may be asking us to trust it, but they can't verify why we ought to trust it in some cases.
MCDONOUGH: Well, I think you'll hear the president talk about this in the days ahead, Bob. And you'll hear him say again what he said in his speech earlier this month at the war college, at the National Defense University. You hear what he said when he responded to reporters last week on this question, which is we do have to find the right balance, especially in this new situation where we find ourselves with all of us reliant on internet, on e-mail, on texting. So we find ourselves communicating in different ways, but that means the bad guys are doing that as well. So, we have to find the right balance between protecting our privacy -- which is sacrosanct in the president's view -- and protecting the country from the very real risks we face. So what -- nobody is -- the president is not saying -- and this goes to the heart of the changes he made in 2009 -- the president is not saying, "trust me." The president is saying I want every member of congress on whose authority we are running this program, to understand it, to be briefed about it, and to be comfortable with it, that's why we've done things like we did in 2009 and 2011 by presenting a classified white paper, inviting every member of congress -- 535 members of them -- to see that piece of paper, to study it and to come to us with questions. Congress has authorized these programs now in very robust debates. And those debates are to their credit. But at the end of the day, it was bipartisan majorities that enacted these. And lastly, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the FISA court, looks at all those programs on a very regular basis to make sure that they comport with the law, that they comport with our standards and our values. And throughout this process, we have independent audits that are conduct bide inspectors general and by the Department of Justice at NSA, to make sure that this is being conducted in a way that stands up to our values. And to be honest with you, I think if Bob Mueller and Jim Comey, who were having that conversation in 2004, could see what would transpire over the subsequent several years they'd be very comfortable with the programs we're running today, And in fact both of them are.
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