After months of defiance and outright lying about the NSA surveillance schemes, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper is now resigned to the idea that Congress isn’t going to leave the program intact.
“It’s very clear that – to the extent we get to keep these tools at all – they’re going to be legislatively amended,” Clapper conceded, in comments related to the collection of Americans’ data.
Clapper blamed the media for the impending loss of power, saying they “go straight to the deepest, darkest place they can” in reporting on the surveillance scandal, and don’t give him near the benefit of the doubt he’d prefer.
Still and all, Clapper is likely just glad he didn’t get fired outright, after openly bragging about lying under oath in testimony to Congress then offering a half-hearted apology a month later. Losing some of his surveillance powers seems like he’s getting off easy.