Snowden triggers scrutiny on secret access

WASHINGTON (AP) — Inside the top secret domain is a murky complicated world. And the latest release of classified U.S. government phone and email surveillance programs by a former National Security Agency contractor has triggered scrutiny once again on how well federal agencies guard their secrets and police their employees.

Altogether, 4.9 million government workers, including more than 1 million contractors, have confidential, secret or top secret clearance. It’s not clear what level of clearance former CIA employee and NSA contractor Edward Snowden had, but the secret court ruling he released was classified top secret, and other surveillance program details he released this week were also highly classified.