Five things Snowden leaks revealed about NSA’s original warrantless wiretaps

As stories based on Edward Snowden’s trove of leaked National Security Agency (NSA) documents continue to trickle out, most reporters have focused on what they can tell us about the spy agency’s current or recent surveillance activities. Yet one of the most interesting documents from Snowden’s cache sheds new light on the granddaddy of them all: President Bush’s original warrantless wiretap program.

1. The program was broader than originally reported
2. Vice President Cheney’s office wanted domestic communications
3. The phone companies suggested using call records
4. The scale of the snooping
5. Secrecy impeded effective oversight