CIA Nominee Hayden Defends NSA ProgramsFriday May 12, 2006 5:16 PM
AP Photo WCAP101
By KATHERINE SHRADER
Associated Press Writers
WASHINGTON (AP) - 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.
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