Back in the United States, National Security Agency whistleblower Russell Tice has revealed new details on the Bush administration’s warrantless spy program. Speaking on MSNBC, Tice said government spying extended to virtually all Americans under the false pretense of trying to weed out those not suspected of terrorist activity. Tice also said the spying targeted specific groups, including media organizations and journalists.

Russell Tice: “In one of the operations that I was in, we looked at organizations just supposedly so that we would not target them, so that we knew where they were, as not to have a problem with them. Now, what I was finding out, though, is that the collection on those organizations was 24/7 and, you know, 365 days a year, and it made no sense. And that’s — I started to investigate that. That’s about the time when they came after me to fire me. But an organization that was collected on were US news organizations and reporters and journalists.”

Tice was one of the sources for the New York Times article that exposed the government’s secret domestic surveillance programs. He also spoke out about the domestic wiretapping in a series of televised interviews, including on Democracy Now!