--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Certain documents, such as the FISA court…" description: "\"“Certain documents, such as the FISA court order allowing collection of telephone records and Obama’s presidential directive to prepare offensive cyber..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92d/glenn-greenwald-1215_fisa-court_certain-documents-such-as-the-fisa-court_3094252.jpg" --- # Certain documents, such as the FISA court order allowing… ![“Certain documents, such as the FISA court order allowing collection of telephone records and Obama’s presidential directive to prepare offensive cyber-operations, were among the US government’s most closely held secrets. Deciphering the archive and the NSA’s language” quote by Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92d/glenn-greenwald-1215_fisa-court_certain-documents-such-as-the-fisa-court_3094252.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92d/glenn-greenwald-1215_fisa-court_certain-documents-such-as-the-fisa-court_3094252.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/92d/glenn-greenwald-1215_fisa-court_certain-documents-such-as-the-fisa-court_3094252.jpg) > ““Certain documents, such as the FISA court order allowing collection of telephone records and Obama’s presidential directive to prepare offensive cyber-operations, were among the US government’s most closely held secrets. Deciphering the archive and the NSA’s language”” [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote highlights that even highly classified surveillance tools become public, revealing government secrecy and the need for transparency. **In simple terms:** Secret surveillance tools can become public, showing need for openness. Key Takeaway Demand accountability for secret programs. Themes government transparency surveillance privacy accountability Mood cautious critical inquisitive Type political analytical When to use this quote - journalism - policy debate - legal reform - public awareness Key Concepts civil liberties intelligence oversight whistleblowing Questions to Reflect On - How should societies balance security and openness? - What mechanisms ensure effective oversight? A Different Perspective Even disclosed secrets may be incomplete, limiting full understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Archive Nsa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/archive-nsa-5334798/) [Deciphering Archive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deciphering-archive-5334799/) [Documents Fisa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documents-fisa-5334797/) [Fisa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fisa-597429/) [Fisa Court](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fisa-court-597428/) ## Related quotes > [It is a little bit difficult to talk about things that do involve classified matters in public. But I think the public needs to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/it-is-a-little-bit-difficult-to-talk-about-things-that-do-involve/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [We cannot go up on a wire. We cannot do a search without a judge on the FISA Court approving it and determining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mueller/we-cannot-go-up-on-a-wire-we-cannot-do-a-search-without-a-judge-on/) [Robert Mueller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mueller/) > [“From its inception, FISA has been the ultimate rubber stamp. In its first twenty-four years, from 1978 to 2002, the court rejected a total…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/from-its-inception-fisa-has-been-the-ultimate-rubber-stamp-in-its/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [I think the FISA court's basically totally irrelevant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-binney/i-think-the-fisa-court-s-basically-totally-irrelevant/) [William Binney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-binney/) > [It's a huge deal when you have got people of the Department of Justice and FBI making fundamental misrepresentations to the FISA court.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-gaetz/it-s-a-huge-deal-when-you-have-got-people-of-the-department-of/) [Matt Gaetz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-gaetz/) > [The Obama administration's FBI and Justice Department used unverified opposition research obtained outside of our country as ammunition to get a FISA warrant to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trish-regan/the-obama-administration-s-fbi-and-justice-department-used-unverified/) [Trish Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trish-regan/) > [I know firsthand that it's difficult to get a FISA warrant. From 2002 to 2005, when I was an F.B.I. agent conducting counterintelligence investigations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asha-rangappa/i-know-firsthand-that-it-s-difficult-to-get-a-fisa-warrant-from-2002/) [Asha Rangappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asha-rangappa/) > [To get a FISA warrant to spy on a suspected spy, the feds go before a super-secret court located in a sealed room in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/to-get-a-fisa-warrant-to-spy-on-a-suspected-spy-the-feds-go-before-a/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [FISA is one of the most important investigative tools we've got in preventing our adversaries from harming our country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-a-wray/fisa-is-one-of-the-most-important-investigative-tools-we-ve-got-in/) [Christopher A. Wray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-a-wray/) > [What we do is we combine information collected from any lawful source in a single FBI database so we don't miss a dot when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/what-we-do-is-we-combine-information-collected-from-any-lawful-source/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [“Then, on December 14, 1999, an alert United States Customs agent in Port Angeles, Washington, stopped a nervous twenty-three-year-old Algerian named Ahmed Ressam who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-weiner/then-on-december-14-1999-an-alert-united-states-customs-agent-in-port/) [Tim Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-weiner/) > [The government's collection authority, under the Patriot Act, is basically limitless. They can get the medical records and financial records, gun purchase records. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-wyden/the-government-s-collection-authority-under-the-patriot-act-is/) [Ron Wyden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-wyden/) > [While Congress saw some need to loosen the standard in the initial days of a war, it wanted the president to comply with FISA…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-turley/while-congress-saw-some-need-to-loosen-the-standard-in-the-initial/) [Jonathan Turley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-turley/) > [So there is a foreign intelligence purpose for every one of our FISA warrants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mueller/so-there-is-a-foreign-intelligence-purpose-for-every-one-of-our-fisa/) [Robert Mueller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mueller/) > [FISA targets those who are 'agents of a foreign power.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wilson/fisa-targets-those-who-are-agents-of-a-foreign-power/) [Rick Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-wilson/) ## More by Glenn Greenwald > [In essence, I see the value of journalism as resting in a twofold mission: informing the public of accurate and vital information, and its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/in-essence-i-see-the-value-of-journalism-as-resting-in-a-twofold/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“The evidence shows that assurances that surveillance is only targeted at those who “have done something wrong” should provide little comfort, since a state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/the-evidence-shows-that-assurances-that-surveillance-is-only-targeted/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“It's almost hard to imagine anything more undemocratic than the view that political officials should not debate American wars in public, but only express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/it-s-almost-hard-to-imagine-anything-more-undemocratic-than-the-view/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [It's hardly news that the Obama administration is intensely and, in many respects, unprecedentedly hostile toward the news-gathering process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/it-s-hardly-news-that-the-obama-administration-is-intensely-and-in/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [Only In America can a renowned and devoted terrorism supporter like Peter King be the arbiter of national security and treason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/only-in-america-can-a-renowned-and-devoted-terrorism-supporter-like/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“Above even our physical well-being, a central value is keeping the state out of the private realm—our “persons, houses, papers, and effects,” as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/above-even-our-physical-well-being-a-central-value-is-keeping-the/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“That capability at any time could be turned around on the American people and no American would have any privacy left, such is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/that-capability-at-any-time-could-be-turned-around-on-the-american/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“Converting the Internet into a system of surveillance thus guts it of its core potential. Worse, it turns the Internet into a tool of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/converting-the-internet-into-a-system-of-surveillance-thus-guts-it-of/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“the desire for privacy is shared by us all as an essential, not ancillary, part of what it means to be human. We all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/the-desire-for-privacy-is-shared-by-us-all-as-an-essential-not/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [I don't have a 'side'—I'm responsible for what I say and nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/i-don-t-have-a-side-i-m-responsible-for-what-i-say-and-nothing-else/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“Encryption matters, and it is not just for spies and philanderers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/encryption-matters-and-it-is-not-just-for-spies-and-philanderers/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“Among other devices, the agency intercepts and tampers with routers and servers manufactured by Cisco to direct large amounts of Internet traffic back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/among-other-devices-the-agency-intercepts-and-tampers-with-routers/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“NSA has increasingly made use of a secret technology that enables it to enter and alter data in computers even if they are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/nsa-has-increasingly-made-use-of-a-secret-technology-that-enables-it/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [A key purpose of journalism is to provide an adversarial check on those who wield the greatest power by shining a light on what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/a-key-purpose-of-journalism-is-to-provide-an-adversarial-check-on/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“We all instinctively understand that the private realm is where we can act, think, speak, write, experiment, and choose how to be, away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/we-all-instinctively-understand-that-the-private-realm-is-where-we/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) [Explore all 270 Glenn Greenwald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) ## More Fisa Court quotes > [It is a little bit difficult to talk about things that do involve classified matters in public. But I think the public needs to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-comey/it-is-a-little-bit-difficult-to-talk-about-things-that-do-involve/) [James Comey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-comey/) > [I think the FISA court's basically totally irrelevant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-binney/i-think-the-fisa-court-s-basically-totally-irrelevant/) [William Binney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-binney/) > [We cannot go up on a wire. We cannot do a search without a judge on the FISA Court approving it and determining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mueller/we-cannot-go-up-on-a-wire-we-cannot-do-a-search-without-a-judge-on/) [Robert Mueller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mueller/) > [It's a huge deal when you have got people of the Department of Justice and FBI making fundamental misrepresentations to the FISA court.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-gaetz/it-s-a-huge-deal-when-you-have-got-people-of-the-department-of/) [Matt Gaetz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-gaetz/) [Browse all 5 Fisa Court quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fisa-court-597428/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Certain documents, such as the FISA court order allowing collection of telephone records and Obama’s presidential directive to prepare offensive cyber-operations, were among the US government’s most closely held secrets. 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