In other domestic spy news, the Associated Press is reporting law enforcement agencies have employed private-sector brokers to collect the personal telephone records of scores of Americans. Officials interviewed by the AP said the brokers were employed because they could bypass civil liberties safeguards such as subpoenas and warrants. The brokers’ methods included hacking into customers’ online accounts and even impersonating them to get phone companies to reveal their private information. The government spent at least $30 million dollars last year on the brokers’ activities. Some agencies stopped using the brokers after coming under congressional scrutiny. A lawyer representing four data brokers defended his clients by comparing their work to the spying activities of the National Security Agency. The lawyer, James Bearden, said: “The government is doing exactly what these people are accused of doing… These are people who are partners with law enforcement on a regular basis.”