NSA review group briefs White House

The members of a surveillance review panel have presented their preliminary findings to the White House.

The review group met in the White House with National Security Advisor Susan Rice; Lisa Monaco, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism; and other national security staff, White House spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said.

She declined to provide details about the preliminary findings. The group’s final report is due December 15.

{mosads}”We expect that the outcomes of their work will be made public in some way once the final report is submitted,” Hayden said. 

President Obama created the panel after the leaks by Edward Snowden prompted a public debate about the scope of the National Security Agency’s controversial surveillance programs.

Obama tasked the panel with reviewing the programs and making recommendations for changes. He has emphasized that the group of “high-level outside experts” will conduct an “independent” review.

The members of the review panel are: Michael Morell, a former CIA official; Richard Clarke, a former counterterrorism official; Cass Sunstein, a law professor and former regulatory official; Peter Swire, a former privacy official; and Geoffrey Stone, a constitutional law professor.