National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers said Wednesday the NSA would not have been able to “recreate the insights” on Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election without the program allowing the government to monitor communications generated by foreign nationals.
“I could not be able to recreate the insights on the Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election cycle,” Rogers told the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence when asked what impact the end of Section 702 would have on national security. “Without 702, we could not have produced that level of insight.”
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, is currently up for reauthorization. The program allows the U.S. government to monitor telephone communications and online activity generated by foreign nationals.
The program can also sweep up communications from Americans.
Rogers, along with Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein testified on the future of the program Wednesday morning.
In addition to impacting the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, Rogers said he would not be able to generate insights for which U.S. allies count on the intelligence community.
“I could not generate the same level of insight that the nation, our friends, and allies around the world count on with respect to counterterrorism, counter proliferation,” he said.
