The Wall Street Journal is reporting that in he midst of spying on Israel, President Obama’s NSA listened in on private conversations conducted with members of the U.S. Congress and American-Jewish groups. The agency conducted surveillance of communications between Israeli officials and U.S. Jewish groups that had opposed the Presidents “Iran Nuclear Deal”. The NSA also routinely monitored Prime Minister Netanyahu’s communications and sent them to the white house for dissection, the report says, citing a former official.
When Israel continued to press against the deal being brokered by the Obama Administration, the NSA continued to monitor communications between Israeli officials and members of the U.S. Congress. The Wall Street Journal interviewee claim the communications were mistakenly obtained, regardless, they amount to an incredible breach of the Separation of Powers as well as further degrading the U.S. position in the global community.
President Obama announced two years ago he would curtail eavesdropping on friendly heads of state after the world learned the reach of long-secret U.S. surveillance programs. Like most of the promised made by this administration, it appears that this one was not adhered to either. Again showing the audacity of this Administration has little bounds. France President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel rightly called the president to the carpet when it was revealed that the U.S. was monitoring their communications.
But behind the scenes, the White House decided to keep certain allies under close watch, current and former U.S. officials said. Topping the list was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This new revelation will continue to degrade the already strained U.S.-Israeli relations.
