[throwit_faraway]

Without detailed evidence, there's still a 2/15 chance this is a cover-up. In cases like this, transparency is crucial -- not just to hold foreign actors accountable, but to ensure we aren't inadvertently justifying unconstitutional surveillance of US citizens.

[salawat]

It isn't "inadvertently justified" if it was intentionally done. Patriot Act and CALEA specifically mandated the building in of these backdooring capabilities to all telecommunications equipment. Look up "Lawful Interception".

Long story short: lawmakers decided the definition of privacy was "no one from the government felt like looking".