http://www.mwcsun.com/feeds/apcontent/apstories/apstorysection/D8HIB5AO0.xml.txt/resources_apstoryviewCIA Nominee Hayden Defends NSA Programs
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON —
CIA director nominee Gen. Michael Hayden on Friday defended the secret surveillance programs he oversaw while head of another spy agency as lawful and designed to "preserve the security and the liberty of the American people."
Hayden's visits to lawmakers on Capitol Hill were complicated by reaction to public disclosure of a National Security Agency program that has been collecting millions of Americans' everyday telephone records. Hayden declined to comment on news reports about the database, but spoke about the NSA's work in general terms.
"Everything that the agency has done has been lawful. It's been briefed to the appropriate members of Congress," Hayden told reporters outside a Senate office. "The only purpose of the agency's activities is to preserve the security and the liberty of the American people.
"And I think we've done that," he said.