The President seemed unaware of the article that was published by The Guardian just 3 hours prior to the press conference as his handlers allowed the President to appear either untruthful or out of touch. In this article the Guardian disclosed that the NSA had at least a virtual "backdoor" if not an actual into their own systems that allowed them to skirt even the "rubber stamped" FISA Court spirit and restraints.

Did The Guardian Release A Smoking Gun?

If the release by The Guardian is true, this revelation would be the "smoking gun" of intent to break the law on the part of the NSA by stretching it's authority like a pretzel. This would be as damaging as recent revelations that the DEA was encouraging lying to "officers of the court" to avoid detection of their own constitutional abuses.

Only the one reporter out of the entire White House Press Corps kept the President from obfuscating through the entire press conference regarding recent revelations of abuses by the NSA, DEA, and  others. The President had a surprising lack of grasp of recent revelations in the press or he just failed in reassuring the "better informed" of the American public regarding government surveillance.

We seemed to have been bombarded by revelations of NSA spying, DEA lying to courts, FBI releasing computer virus to the public, theft, deceit, and corruption in our banking system, the growth of militarized police, and finally widespread selective abuse by courts and law enforcement. As one sits back and quietly reflects on these recent events, the thought that our democracy may have lost its way comes first to mind.

And on second thought, it is clear that many members of the media, Congress, and perhaps the White House are severely handicapped by their lack of basic IT knowledge and that they are not to be trusted solely in their often ignorant assessments. Their failure to grasp the enormity of the NSA, DEA and others transgressions is quite astounding and very disheartening to many of the President's progressive supporters.

Reforms The President Offered Are Reasonable

Reforms the President offered are after all reasonable and have been called for by many security and privacy advocates to partially bridge the current divide.  But true reform is in the detail and not the rhetoric. And even now in this press conference the President indicates he has "no problem" with what is currently occurring. So we can assume that it is only a matter of convincing us that we are wrong to be concerned but no actual substantial reform will be forthcoming, just hand holding while we gnash our teeth and stomp our feet.

However, if the recent Guardian revelations of the "backdoor" are true, and the Guardian's releases have proved very accurate to date, it would indicate that the White House is unaware of the actions of certain parts of the federal bureaucracy rather than accusing the White House being outright deceitful.

The President's failure to address the recent DEA's use of NSA materials is particularly revealing as he keeps telling the American public "we are not spying on you" referring only to the NSA and makes no mention of those others that have already gained access or are clamoring to do so as the New York Times reported this week.

Unless these obviously illegal discrepancies were specially authorized by the White House then it is clear insubordination and must be dealt with publicly -- as President Truman dealt with Gen MacArthur's intentional indiscretions -- if the public is to be reassured that the President and Congress are in control. If these actions were authorized by the White House then the Congress must take the appropriate action. If the Congress itself is complicit then the public will have to speak.

Colbert On The NSA Press Conference on Domestic Spying

Edward Snowden ruined President Obama's plan to throw a surprise transparency party and hold the same NSA press conference.

Senate Insider Speaks Out: Ex-Wyden Staffer on Secret Laws, Domestic Spying and Obama’s NSA Reforms

As President Obama proposed a series of changes to reform the government’s surveillance policies and programs, we speak to Jennifer Hoelzer, the former deputy chief of staff for Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, a longtime critic of the Obama administration for using a secret interpretation of the USA PATRIOT Act to allow the NSA to conduct domestic surveillance.

"Unfortunately Edward Snowden was the only means by which we have been able to have this debate," Hoelzer says. "We, working for Senator Wyden, did everything to try to encourage the administration to bring these facts to light. We’re not talking about sources and methods, we’re not talking about sensitive materials, we’re talking about what they believed the law allows them to do."

Meanwhile, The Guardian newspaper has revealed the National Security Agency has a secret backdoor into its vast databases to search for email and phone calls of U.S. citizens without a warrant. According to documents leaked by Edward Snowden, NSA operatives can hunt for individual Americans’ communications using their name or other identifying information.

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Obama Outlines Plan For Reforming Surveillance Programs

During a news conference at the White House, President Obama says in the face terror threats “we need to strike the right balance in protecting our security and preserving our freedoms” and says that is why he is taking action with four key steps in reforming our nation’s surveillance programs.

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POLYCONUNDRUM - If there is one thing that is certain, it is that we would not be having these discussions without the help of Edward Snowden. The only thing that can be argued now is whether we should be having these discussions at all, for their illegality is certainly certain under the spirit and language of the fourth amendment regardless of any legislation pushed through Congress out of sight and in the dead of night.

The President's assurances that Snowden should turn himself in with attorney in tow ring especially hollow given the shameful treatment by this administration of Bradley Manning during his first months in custody and harsh treatment of other whistle blowers.

Obama: I Don't Think Mr. Snowden Is A Patriot

Answering a question from NBC's Chuck Todd, President Obama says that a review of intelligence gathering was already underway, and that Edward Snowden should have used alternative methods to have his grievances heard.

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Obama: Surveillance Debaters Are Patriots, But Not Snowden

A vigorous debate on whether we would even be talking about surveillance if it weren't for Edward Snowden's leaks, after President Obama's news conference Friday tried to answer the multiple issues raised by the surveillance. Robert Gibbs, NBC Political Analyst and former Press Secretary for President Obama, Spencer Ackerman, U.S. National Security Editor for The Guardian newspaper, Julian Sanchez, a fellow at the Cato Institute, and  Liza Goitein, Co-Director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, join Ezra Klein, sitting in for Chris Hayes.

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Parsing Administration Doublespeak On NSA Surveillance

Ezra Klein talks about NSA surveillance with Robert Gibbs, Spencer Ackerman, and Julian Sanchez.

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