FBI director warns against restricting controversial NSA surveillance program

FBI Director Christopher Wray warned that changing the rules of a soon-to-expire surveillance program could create new barriers to preventing terrorist attacks, similar to those that existed before 2001. In defending his agency’s information-sharing program with the National Security Agency — which civil liberties groups have criticized as a threat to privacy — Wray said his agents get just a small piece of the NSA’s intelligence gathering.

“The FBI only receives collection for a very small percentage of what the NSA does. It’s about 4.3 percent of the targets under NSA collection. But that 4.3 percent is unbelievably valuable to our mission,’’ Wray said. He did not say how large that database is. “Any material change to the FBI’s use of 702 would severely inhibit our ability to keep the American people safe,’’ he said.