Under this theory, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court could authorize such bulk collection under a "pen register/trap trace" statute, which traditionally allows law enforcement officials to keep logs of communications sent and received by particular phone numbers or e-mail accounts.
Word of the program emerged when The Guardian posted an April order from the secret foreign intelligence court directing a subsidiary of Verizon Communications to give the N.S.A. "on an ongoing daily basis" until July logs of communications "between the United States and abroad" or "wholly within the United States, including local telephone calls".
"A memo went out from the chief of staff a year ago to White House employees and the intelligence agencies that told people to freeze and retain any e-mail, and presumably phone logs, of communications with me," Sanger said.
One main component of the drill was a log of all communications to record who said what to whom, by email or phone, to determine whether the participants could promptly reach the appropriate people at power companies, police stations or distant cybersecurity centers, and whether they could convey the appropriate information.
The service organizes and logs every type of communications with clients, allows users to share documents and images, and record decisions and feedback.
The collection of communications logs — or calling "metadata" — is believed to be a major component of the Bush administration's program of surveillance that took place without court orders.
They also serve as important venues for the NSA and its Canadian counterpart to record and log the communications of world leaders.
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As part of the other suit dealing with FACA obligations, the commission disclosed a log of all its email communications so far.
In the hopes of curbing illegal logging in the new sanctuary, Mario Huacuja, director of communications for the ministry, said in a telephone interview last week that in collaboration with private foundations, the ministry was negotiating a novel system to pay local people for their lost logging rights in the preserve.
