The White House declined to comment Monday night on a critical statement on NSA surveillance issued by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), in which the Senate Intelligence Chair said that the administration had “informed me that collection on our allies will not continue, which I support.”
“We consult regularly with Chairman Feinstein as a part of our ongoing engagement with the Congress on national security matters,” said National Security Council spokesperson Caitlin Hayden in a statement. “We appreciate her continued leadership on these issues as Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. I’m not going to go into the details of those private discussions, nor am I going to comment on assertions made in the Senator’s statement today about U.S. foreign intelligence activities.”
Feinstein said Monday that she was “totally opposed” to surveilling allied leaders, amid reports that the National Security Agency has been monitoring German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other U.S. allies.
