Once Edward Snowden began leaking classified documents, National Security Agency officials knew that they'd be forced to respond. They began developing talking points. By their own account, the attempt spread across 156 pages of records. Or so the NSA told Jason Leopold, a transparency activist who wants to see them. The NSA has now officially refused his Freedom of Information Act request, using a number of legal arguments. Can you guess which one bothers me?
Here they are, via Leopold:
… the NSA classified all of the records as "top secret" under a FOIA exemption established by presidential executive order and determined that "their disclosure reasonably be expected to cause exceptionally grave danger to the national security." "This agency is also authorized by various statutes to protect certain information concerning its activities," states a January 23 letter signed by NSA FOIA chief Pamela Phillips. "We have determined that such information exists in these documents."
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