WASHINGTON—Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D—CA), one of the staunchest defenders of CIA and NSA spying, strongly criticized the CIA for spying on the Senate yesterday.
“What am I, an ordinary American?” fumed Feinstein. “You want to go listen to Joe Average’s personal phone calls, go ahead. But the Senate should be totally out of bounds.”
The controversy arose when it turned out that the CIA had accessed Senate staff computers, much as it and other government agencies have accessed millions of computers for years.
“Everyone knows I don’t believe in the right to privacy for regular people,” said Feinstein. “If they want to keep their own information private, then they should go get themselves elected to the Senate. But the rules should be different for me.”
Stung by the criticism, CIA Director John Brennan announced that he was changing protocols around domestic surveillance. “Unfortunately the nature of those changes is classified, though,” said Brennan, shrugging. “Sure wish I could help you.”
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