May 12, 2006: CIA Nominee Hayden Defends NSA Programs (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.”
  • “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.

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