On April 3rd, 2012, James Bamford wrote for Wired on NSA wiretapping. Bamford had previously written a controversial article on the NSA's new spy palace in Utah. This article was no less controversial.
To begin, Bamford claimed that the NSA is careless with the data it monitors. Notably, the NSA relies on "obscure and questionable contractors" that "employ[] unstable employees, crooked executives, and hav[e] troubling ties to foreign intelligence services" to build the surveillance infrastructure, install the taps, and conduct the eavesdropping. Thus, regardless of whether the NSA engages in warrantless wiretapping, the presence of these outside contractors merits concern.
Bamford goes on to say that two private contractors tap the communications lines at both Verizon and AT&T. Disturbingly, Bamford linked those very same contractors to the Israeli intelligence service.
The article goes into much more depth than I can effectively summarize here, but the general point was that the Israelis exercise a lot of influence over the companies the NSA relies upon for eavesdropping. Moreover, some of the NSA's contractors have faced a host of legal and ethical problems that call their reliability into question.
The NSA denied to verify the allegations, and said that it "takes seriously its obligation to adhere to the U.S. Constitution and comply with the U.S. laws and regulations that govern our activities."
A controversial article, but definitely an interesting read. Check out the Wired article here.
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