Debate on secret data looks unlikely, partly due to secrecy

Steven Aftergood, who runs the Project on Government Secrecy at the Federation of American Scientists in Washington, said: “If President Obama really welcomed a debate, there are all kinds of things he could do in terms of declassification and disclosure to foster it. But he’s not doing any of them.”…

Conceivably some views about the scope and propriety of the programs could change after closed briefings on the N.S.A. programs planned for House members on Tuesday and senators on Thursday. But even when a member of Congress does not like a secret program, classification rules make it tough to protest. Representative Jan Schakowsky, Democrat of Illinois and a critic of government surveillance, received a private briefing on the N.S.A.’s Internet program last year but is constrained in talking about it, said a spokeswoman, Sabrina Singh.

“She welcomes the public debate, but it’s a tough line for her to talk about because she knows more than the public,” Ms. Singh said. “It’s something she is wrestling with.”