Administration defends collecting phone records

The Obama Administration defended the National Security Agency's need to collect telephone records of U.S. citizens, calling such information "a critical tool in protecting the nation from terrorist threats."

While defending the practice, a senior administration official did not confirm a newspaper report that the NSA has been collecting the telephone records of millions of U.S. customers of Verizon under a top secret court order. The administration official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to publicly discuss classified matters. Verizon spokesman Ed McFadden said the company had no comment. The NSA had no immediate comment.