Although most people viewed the committee's findings through the prism of their own political leanings, a smaller group said they were still weighing the newly disclosed intelligence lapses, the war itself, and how all of that might play into their political choices.
But now there is external corroboration, both in the newly disclosed intelligence intercepts and in the FBI files that have recently been made public.
In statements after the programme was disclosed, intelligence and government officials have stressed that the NSA does not collect the contents of US calls, only the "metadata", such as the numbers called, the duration and timing of the calls.
Earlier on Monday in Vienna, Mohamed ElBaradei, the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations nuclear monitor, said newly disclosed intelligence reports that Iran had secretly researched how to make nuclear weapons were of "serious concern" and would be pursued by his office.
The meeting ignited controversy this week when it was revealed that Mr. Trump had disclosed intelligence from an Israeli counterterrorism operation.
It referred to one newly disclosed intelligence document from December 1998 that said: "Plans to hijack U.S. aircraft proceeding well.
At the time, Britain took on the assignment of disclosing intelligence findings because, the thinking then went, the information would be more credible and trustworthy to critics of the war and in the Muslim world if it came from London rather than Washington.
Sadly, he overlooks the fate of Chelsea (formerly Bradley) Manning, who is serving a 35-year jail sentence in the United States for disclosing intelligence documents to Assange's WikiLeaks site.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose intelligence information, said Mr. Abedi had not left Libya until May 17.
After the plea, he met weekly with the government for hours at a time, disclosing intelligence information about his Shabab and Qaeda co-conspirators, who included "high-level international terrorist operatives," prosecutors said in one highly redacted letter dated March 2012.
The exploits revealed by the Intercept are the latest in a long list of stories disclosing intelligence agency activities against Apple and its platforms.
