U.S. Spy Agency Shared Intelligence Data From Eavesdropping

U.S. Spy Agency Shared Intelligence Data From Eavesdropping

Jan. 1 (Bloomberg) -- The National Security Agency shared with other government operations some of the data it collected while eavesdropping on communications between the U.S. and overseas, the Washington Post reported.

The information, such as records of telephone calls and e- mails, was cross-checked with databases compiled by those agencies, including the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Post said, citing unnamed current and former administration officials.

Agencies that get the information can use it for ``data mining'' to look for patterns or relationships, the newspaper reported. The DIA may have used the information to conduct surveillance on people inside the U.S. as part of a Defense Department operation set up after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to identify terrorist threats inside the U.S., according to the Post.

A Defense Intelligence Agency spokesman said the agency doesn't conduct domestic surveillance and refused to comment further, the Post reported. Democrats and some Republicans in Congress have called for hearings on the NSA eavesdropping program, which was approved by President George W. Bush."