Disputed NSA Phone Program Is Shut Down, Aide Says

In late January, however, Christopher Augustine, an N.S.A. spokesman, had told The New York Times that agency officials were “carefully evaluating all aspects” of the Freedom Act program, and that while “no decision has been made,” the National Security Agency and other agencies were discussing its future. Mr. Augustine also said that the National Security Agency expected to “provide input” about whether to push for renewed authority to pursue the bulk data collection, but he made clear that the White House would make the final call about whether to ask Congress to extend the Freedom Act. Since “the sky hasn’t fallen” without the program operating, he said, that shifts the burden to the intelligence community to make the case that reviving it is necessary — if, indeed, the National Security Agency actually thinks it is worth the effort to keep trying to make it work.

Source: www.nytimes.com