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two query terms of USA Freedom Act CDRs even though using an email address as a query term
94
in Tool 1 would never return USA Freedom Act CDRs. (Those CDRs did not include email
95
addresses or other unique online identifiers. ) As a result, the reported number of USA
Freedom Act CDR query terms included terms that, by their nature, could never have returned
96
those CDRs.
(U) Using Tool 1 for its operational benefits produced ancillary benefits for oversight and
compliance. The minimization procedures that apply to USA Freedom Act CDRs address the
97
handling, retention, and dissemination of CDRs, but do not regulate querying. Thus, NSA was
not required to track—and did not need to have a particularized foreign intelligence justification
for running—US person queries of CDR program data. However, Tool 1 is designed to
automatically require analysts to justify and track US person queries and requires a foreign
intelligence purpose for each query run in order to comply with NSA’s other procedures. Using
98
Tool 1 effectively imposed these requirements as a matter of practice on the CDR program.
(S//NF) When an analyst ran a query that returned CDRs, the analyst would naturally
want to know additional information about the individuals involved, even to the point of
identifying communicants if possible. However, with
identifying information as they entered its repositories. For example, it did not
to the
CDR produced by the provide
99 For example, an NSA analyst could have Tool 1 indicate whether any CDRs
were associated with an NSA target of foreign-intelligence interest. 100 An NSA analyst could
also ask Tool 1 to display certain the contact in the query
results,
101
94 (U) NSA briefing to the Board (Mar. 26, 2019).
95 (U) NSA briefing to the Board (Mar. 26, 2019).
96 (U) Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Statistical Transparency Report Regarding the Use of National
Security Authorities: Calendar Year 2018, 28 (Apr. 2019) (“2018 Statistical Transparency Report”),
https://www.dni.gov/files/CLPT/documents/2019_ASTR_for_CY2018.pdf.
97 (U) See NSA Minimization Procedures for CDRs.
98 (U) NSA briefing to the Board (Mar. 26, 2019).
99 (U) NSA briefing to the Board (May 23, 2019).
100 (U) NSA briefing to the Board (May 23, 2019).
101 (U) NSA briefing to the Board (May 23, 2019).
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