By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 23:07 EST, 17 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:05 EST, 18 June 2013 . President Barack Obama last night insisted that the NSA's top secret monitoring of Americans' phone and internet data 'is transparent' as he sought to defuse fears following the revelations of leaker Edward Snowden. Nonetheless, in the sit down with Charlie Rose on PBS, the president said he will meet soon with a privacy and civil . liberties oversight board to discuss ways to balance the need for U.S. surveillance while respecting people's right to privacy. ‘It is transparent,’ Obama said. ‘That's why we set up the . FISA court,’ he added, referring to the secret court set up by the Foreign . Intelligence Surveillance Act that authorizes two recently disclosed programs: . one that gathers U.S. phone records and another that is designed to track the . use of U.S.-based Internet servers by foreigners with possible links to . terrorism. Scroll down for video . Coming clean? Charlie Rose sat with President Obama in a 45-minute interview that aired Monday...and aired the dirty laundry concerning the NSA leaks . The location of FISA courts is secret. The sessions are . closed. The orders that result from hearings in which only government lawyers . are present are classified. Obama told the PBS anchor that he has asked the intelligence . community to see if there is more that can be revealed about it to reassure . people. ‘What I've asked the intelligence community to do is see how . much of this we can declassify without further compromising the program. ... And they are in that process of doing so now,’ he said. Obama has come under fire for the scope of surveillance by . the National Security Agency revealed by former government contractor Edward . Snowden. Within the law? The president emphasized that the information leaked by Snowden revealed nothing illegal . ‘The way I view it, my job is both to protect the American . people and to protect the American way of life, which includes our privacy,’ he . said. The president said the government must find a way to clarify . in peoples’ minds that intelligence activity is in their interest more than it . is not. ‘We're going to have to find ways where the public has an . assurance that there are checks and balances in place ... that their phone . calls aren't being listened into; their text messages aren't being monitored, . their emails are not being read by some big brother somewhere,’ Obama said. The president stressed that nothing has changed about the government's ability to listen in on Americans' communications since, 'the same way it's always been.' 'What I can say unequivocally is that if you are a U.S. person, the NSA cannot listen to your telephone calls, and the NSA cannot target your emails … and have not,' he said. 'They cannot and have not, by law and by rule, and unless they...go to a court, and obtain a warrant, and seek probable cause,' he went on. Obama also told Rose he wanted to encourage a national . debate on the balance between privacy and national security. Don't fear the government: Now at the G8 conference, Obama taped an interview with Charlie Rose before he left wherein he assured everyday Americans their phones aren't tapped and their emails aren't being read . Timing? Obama's interview came soon after outrage over NSA reports leaked by Edward Snowden painted the administration as far from transparent . And what I want to do is to set up and structure a national . conversation, not only about these two programs, but also the general problem . of data, big data sets, because this is not going to be restricted to . government entities,’ he said. Despite the heavy topics of the night, the president was able to inject at least a little bit of humor: . 'Some people say, "Well, you know, Obama was this raving liberal before. Now he’s, you know, Dick Cheney." Dick Cheney sometimes says, ‘Yeah, you know? He took all lock, stock and barrel.” My concern has always been not that we shouldn’t do intelligence gathering to prevent terrorism, but rather are we setting up a system of checks and balances.' Obama is in Northern Ireland for a meeting of leaders of . allied countries. As Obama arrived, the latest series of Guardian articles . drawing on the leaks claims that British eavesdropping agency GCHQ repeatedly . hacked into foreign diplomats' phones and emails with U.S. help, in an effort . to get an edge in such high-stakes negotiations. Obama's announcement follows an online chat Monday by Edward . Snowden, the man who leaked documents revealing the scope of the two programs . to The Guardian and The Washington Post newspapers. He accused members of . Congress and administration officials of exaggerating their claims about the . success of the data gathering programs, including pointing to the arrest of . would-be New York subway bomber Najibullah Zazi in 2009. Lame duck? Obama may also have an even more personal reason to want Americans to cool down over the NSA leaks. Recent poll numbers show his popularity has plummeted since the Snowden leaks to 45 percent apporval . Charlie Rose's 45-minute interview with Obama also covered such topics as the Iranian election, the civil war in Syria, Guantanamo, drone policy, among other issues. Obama's approval rating among Americans has dropped eight . percentage points over the past month, down to 45 percent, according to a . CNN/ORC International poll. The fallout over the surveillance programs was . cited as a reason. 'I think the American public can accept the fact if you tell them that every time you pick up the phone it's going to be recorded and goes to the government,' said the police commissioner at a recent event. 'I think the public can understand that. I see no reason why that program was placed in the secret category.' Kelly also disagrees with Attorney General Eric Holder's stance that Edward Snowden's leak seriously damages national security and the fight against terrorism. His comments also seem to distrust, at least mildly, President Obama's assertions in Monday night's Charlie Rose interview where the president continually maintained that, if you're Average Joe American, the NSA is not listening to your phone calls as part of the program uncovered by Snowden. 'I think if you listen to Snowden,' said Kelly, 'he indicates that there’s some sort of malfeasance, people . . . sitting around and watching the data. So I think the question is: What sort of oversight is there inside the NSA to prevent that abuse, if it’s taking place?' According to Obama, any wiretapping or surveillance must go through several layers of bureaucracy in order to be implemented. Obama has also said, and reiterated in Monday's interview, that there is a balance struck between ensuring privacy and keeping Americans safe. Kelly, however, disagrees. 'I think we can raise people’s comfort level if in fact information comes out as to that we have these controls and these protections inside the NSA,' he said. Kelly believes the public doesn't know enough about the supposed checks and balances to be comforted by them. Kelly went on to use Snowden's claims as evidence that the checks and balances don't even exist. 'He tried to give the impression, it seems to me, that these system administrators had carte blanche to do what they wanted to do,' Kelly said. 'I think it’s a problem if that’s in fact what’s happening.'
'If you’re a U.S. person, then NSA is not listening to your phone calls and it’s not targeting your emails': The president emphasized that everyday Americans are not monitored by the NSA .
Obama maintained the activities revealed by Snowden are legal and subject to bureaucratic checks and balances .
By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 23:07 EST, 17 June 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 08:05 EST, 18 June 2013 . President Barack Obama last night insisted that the NSA's top secret monitoring of Americans' phone and internet data 'is transparent' as he sought to defuse fears following the revelations of leaker Edward Snowden. Nonetheless, in the sit down with Charlie Rose on PBS, the president said he will meet soon with a privacy and civil . liberties oversight board to discuss ways to balance the need for U.S. surveillance while respecting people's right to privacy. ‘It is transparent,’ Obama said. ‘That's why we set up the . FISA court,’ he added, referring to the secret court set up by the Foreign . Intelligence Surveillance Act that authorizes two recently disclosed programs: . one that gathers U.S. phone records and another that is designed to track the . use of U.S.-based Internet servers by foreigners with possible links to . terrorism. Scroll down for video . Coming clean? Charlie Rose sat with President Obama in a 45-minute interview that aired Monday...and aired the dirty laundry concerning the NSA leaks . The location of FISA courts is secret. The sessions are . closed. The orders that result from hearings in which only government lawyers . are present are classified. Obama told the PBS anchor that he has asked the intelligence . community to see if there is more that can be revealed about it to reassure . people. ‘What I've asked the intelligence community to do is see how . much of this we can declassify without further compromising the program. ... And they are in that process of doing so now,’ he said. Obama has come under fire for the scope of surveillance by . the National Security Agency revealed by former government contractor Edward . Snowden. Within the law? The president emphasized that the information leaked by Snowden revealed nothing illegal . ‘The way I view it, my job is both to protect the American . people and to protect the American way of life, which includes our privacy,’ he . said. The president said the government must find a way to clarify . in peoples’ minds that intelligence activity is in their interest more than it . is not. ‘We're going to have to find ways where the public has an . assurance that there are checks and balances in place ... that their phone . calls aren't being listened into; their text messages aren't being monitored, . their emails are not being read by some big brother somewhere,’ Obama said. The president stressed that nothing has changed about the government's ability to listen in on Americans' communications since, 'the same way it's always been.' 'What I can say unequivocally is that if you are a U.S. person, the NSA cannot listen to your telephone calls, and the NSA cannot target your emails … and have not,' he said. 'They cannot and have not, by law and by rule, and unless they...go to a court, and obtain a warrant, and seek probable cause,' he went on. Obama also told Rose he wanted to encourage a national . debate on the balance between privacy and national security. Don't fear the government: Now at the G8 conference, Obama taped an interview with Charlie Rose before he left wherein he assured everyday Americans their phones aren't tapped and their emails aren't being read . Timing? Obama's interview came soon after outrage over NSA reports leaked by Edward Snowden painted the administration as far from transparent . And what I want to do is to set up and structure a national . conversation, not only about these two programs, but also the general problem . of data, big data sets, because this is not going to be restricted to . government entities,’ he said. Despite the heavy topics of the night, the president was able to inject at least a little bit of humor: . 'Some people say, "Well, you know, Obama was this raving liberal before. Now he’s, you know, Dick Cheney." Dick Cheney sometimes says, ‘Yeah, you know? He took all lock, stock and barrel.” My concern has always been not that we shouldn’t do intelligence gathering to prevent terrorism, but rather are we setting up a system of checks and balances.' Obama is in Northern Ireland for a meeting of leaders of . allied countries. As Obama arrived, the latest series of Guardian articles . drawing on the leaks claims that British eavesdropping agency GCHQ repeatedly . hacked into foreign diplomats' phones and emails with U.S. help, in an effort . to get an edge in such high-stakes negotiations. Obama's announcement follows an online chat Monday by Edward . Snowden, the man who leaked documents revealing the scope of the two programs . to The Guardian and The Washington Post newspapers. He accused members of . Congress and administration officials of exaggerating their claims about the . success of the data gathering programs, including pointing to the arrest of . would-be New York subway bomber Najibullah Zazi in 2009. Lame duck? Obama may also have an even more personal reason to want Americans to cool down over the NSA leaks. Recent poll numbers show his popularity has plummeted since the Snowden leaks to 45 percent apporval . Charlie Rose's 45-minute interview with Obama also covered such topics as the Iranian election, the civil war in Syria, Guantanamo, drone policy, among other issues. Obama's approval rating among Americans has dropped eight . percentage points over the past month, down to 45 percent, according to a . CNN/ORC International poll. The fallout over the surveillance programs was . cited as a reason. 'I think the American public can accept the fact if you tell them that every time you pick up the phone it's going to be recorded and goes to the government,' said the police commissioner at a recent event. 'I think the public can understand that. I see no reason why that program was placed in the secret category.' Kelly also disagrees with Attorney General Eric Holder's stance that Edward Snowden's leak seriously damages national security and the fight against terrorism. His comments also seem to distrust, at least mildly, President Obama's assertions in Monday night's Charlie Rose interview where the president continually maintained that, if you're Average Joe American, the NSA is not listening to your phone calls as part of the program uncovered by Snowden. 'I think if you listen to Snowden,' said Kelly, 'he indicates that there’s some sort of malfeasance, people . . . sitting around and watching the data. So I think the question is: What sort of oversight is there inside the NSA to prevent that abuse, if it’s taking place?' According to Obama, any wiretapping or surveillance must go through several layers of bureaucracy in order to be implemented. Obama has also said, and reiterated in Monday's interview, that there is a balance struck between ensuring privacy and keeping Americans safe. Kelly, however, disagrees. 'I think we can raise people’s comfort level if in fact information comes out as to that we have these controls and these protections inside the NSA,' he said. Kelly believes the public doesn't know enough about the supposed checks and balances to be comforted by them. Kelly went on to use Snowden's claims as evidence that the checks and balances don't even exist. 'He tried to give the impression, it seems to me, that these system administrators had carte blanche to do what they wanted to do,' Kelly said. 'I think it’s a problem if that’s in fact what’s happening.'
Americans' phone and internet data 'is president emphasized that the information leaked by Snowden revealed nothing illegal . ‘The way I can say unequivocally is that if you are a U.S. calls, and the NSA cannot target your emails … continually maintained that, if you're Average Joe American, the NSA is not listening to your evidence that the checks and balances don't even