US President George W. Bush denied on Thursday that the government was "trolling through" Americans' personal lives, despite a report that a domestic spy agency was collecting phone records of tens of millions of citizens.
Defending his administration's espionage program, Bush said intelligence activities he had authorized were lawful and the government was not eavesdropping on domestic calls without court approval.
But Democrats and Republicans alike demanded an explanation after USA Today reported the National Security Agency was secretly amassing phone records from phone companies to analyze calling patterns in an effort to detect terrorist plots.
PHOTO: AP
"The privacy of ordinary Americans is fiercely protected in all our activities," Bush told reporters at a hastily called session aimed at damage control. "We're not mining or trolling through the personal lives of millions of innocent Americans."
Some senators suggested, however, the disclosure could complicate confirmation of Air Force General Michael Hayden, who was nominated by Bush on Monday as director of the CIA.
USA Today said Hayden, who headed the NSA from 1999 to 2005, would have overseen the call-tracking program.
"Everything that NSA does is lawful," Hayden insisted after meeting Senator Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, as he pressed ahead with visits to senators who will consider his appointment. "The appropriate members of the Congress -- the House and Senate -- are briefed on all NSA activities."
The controversy could compound Bush's political problems as he struggles to lift public approval ratings that have fallen to new lows, putting his Republican Party's control of Congress at risk in November's elections.
Revelations late last year that the NSA was eavesdropping inside the US without warrants on international calls and e-mails of terrorism suspects sparked an uproar. But the USA Today report, if confirmed, means the agency's domestic program has been on a far wider scale.
Before leaving for Biloxi, Mississippi, a stern-faced Bush said: "Our efforts are focused on links to al Qaeda and their known affiliates" to prevent future attacks in the US. But he did not confirm or deny the USA Today story.
Senator Arlen Specter, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said he would ask phone companies whether they were providing Americans' records to the NSA. "We've got to ... figure out what is going on," the Pennsylvania Republican said.
Meanwhile, the White House on Thursday was standing by Hayden as its nominee for CIA director.
"We're full steam ahead on his nomination," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
MISINFORMATION: The generated content tends to adopt China’s official stance, such as ‘Taiwan is currently governed by the Chinese central government,’ the NSB said Five China-developed artificial intelligence (AI) language models exhibit cybersecurity risks and content biases, an inspection conducted by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The five AI tools are: DeepSeek, Doubao (豆包), Yiyan (文心一言), Tongyi (通義千問) and Yuanbao (騰訊元寶), the bureau said, advising people to remain vigilant to protect personal data privacy and corporate business secrets. The NSB said it, in accordance with the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法), has reviewed international cybersecurity reports and intelligence, and coordinated with the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau and the National Police Agency’s Criminal Investigation Bureau to conduct an inspection of China-made AI language
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
CHECKING BOUNDARIES: China wants to disrupt solidarity among democracies and test their red lines, but it is instead pushing nations to become more united, an expert said The US Department of State on Friday expressed deep concern over a Chinese public security agency’s investigation into Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) for “secession.” “China’s actions threaten free speech and erode norms that have underpinned the cross-strait ‘status quo’ for decades,” a US Department of State spokesperson said. The Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau late last month listed Shen as “wanted” and launched an investigation into alleged “secession-related” criminal activities, including his founding of the Kuma Academy, a civil defense organization that prepares people for an invasion by China. The spokesperson said that the US was “deeply concerned” about the bureau investigating Shen
‘TROUBLEMAKER’: Most countries believe that it is China — rather than Taiwan — that is undermining regional peace and stability with its coercive tactics, the president said China should restrain itself and refrain from being a troublemaker that sabotages peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks after China Coast Guard vessels sailed into disputed waters off the Senkaku Islands — known as the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) in Taiwan — following a remark Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made regarding Taiwan. Takaichi during a parliamentary session on Nov. 7 said that a “Taiwan contingency” involving a Chinese naval blockade could qualify as a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, and trigger Tokyo’s deployment of its military for defense. Asked about the escalating tensions
RSS