President Obama Meets Congressional Lawmakers And Intelligence Officials Over NSA Surveillance Programs

U.S. President Barack Obama (L) walks with Denis McDonough, the White House Chief of Staff, through the colonnade of the White House in Washington February 12, 2013. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/Files

Obama Meets Lawmakers As Anger Grows Over NSA Surveillance Programs -- The Guardian

Republicans and Democrats invited to meeting, which includes intelligence chiefs and critics of data collection programs.

Barack Obama was meeting members of Congress at the Oval Office on Thursday as an increasingly embattled White House seeks to contain growing anger over the surveillance tactics employed by the National Security Agency.

Republican and Democrats have been invited to the meeting, just 24 hours after the Guardian revealed details of another National Security Agency surveillance program which, according to documents, allows analysts to to search through huge databases of emails, online chats and the browsing histories without prior authorisation.

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Update #1: Obama invites lawmakers to White House to discuss concerns about sweeping NSA surveillance -- Washington Post/AP
Update #2: Obama open to changes at NSA; intel officials fight to maintain secrecy -- Washington Times

My Comment: Talk about a surprised meeting. Everyone who has supported (politically) the NSA's surveillance program .... and those who have implemented the programs .... are meeting today in the White House. My take is that they are surprised by what is being leaked .... how it is being covered by the media (nationally and internationally) .... the reaction to these NSA programs (both nationally and internationally) .... and where to go from now. I expect the details of this meeting will be leaked to the press later on .... but it is not hard to imagine on what is being discussed .... in short .... today's meeting is all about damage control, and to change the media message.