White House: Phone records help fight terrorist threats

The White House spoke out about a court order permitting the U.S. government to have access to telephone records, calling the process an important tool for protecting citizens from threats. According to White House spokesman, Josh Earnest, the order helps U.S. intelligence agencies to find terrorists who are participating in operations which could be threaten the safety of U.S. citizens.

Earnest indicated that Congress has been informed about the process and the whole program is supervised by a legal order. The order doesn’t permit the government to hear the content of telephone conversations. The government only has access to details such as a telephone number.