"Overcollection" of Data by NSA

And in one previously undisclosed episode, the N.S.A. tried to wiretap a member of Congress without a warrant, an intelligence official with direct knowledge of the matter said.

The agency believed that the congressman, whose identity could not be determined, was in contact — as part of a Congressional delegation to the Middle East in 2005 or 2006 — with an extremist who had possible terrorist ties and was already under surveillance, the official said. The agency then sought to eavesdrop on the congressman’s conversations, the official said.

Maybe this quote from a NYT article will wake up Congress. Spying on Americans is one thing Congress might ignore, but spying on a sitting member of Congress is a whole other matter.

It does confuse me that the "Teabaggers" don't seem to have a problem with the government spying on Americans. Talk about fascism....