James Clapper described PRISM in a powerpoint project (creative commons)

READ MORE: NSA’s PRISM Surveillance Program Flouts Fourth Amendment 

From the Chicago Tribune: 

“In a statement earlier on Saturday, [James] Clapper acknowledged PRISM's existence by name for the first time and said it had been mischaracterized by the media. The project was legal, not aimed at U.S. citizens and had thwarted threats against the country, he said.

"Over the last week we have seen reckless disclosures of intelligence community measures used to keep Americans safe," Clapper said in a statement.

He said the surveillance activities reported in the Washington Post and Britain's Guardian newspaper were lawful and conducted under authorities approved by Congress. "Significant misimpressions" have resulted from recent articles, he said.”

Clapper is the Director of National Intelligence and launched the aggressive defense of a secret government data collection program in what he labeled as "reckless disclosures."

The action of PRISM and Clapper have been specified as a development of spying and civil liberties that the government can conduct, which had been classified until last Thursday. The revelation was when news came out that the agency obtained data from U.S. telecommunications providers, although they defended their actions as legal and regulated by courts with a FISA court approval.

Clapper admitted that the way information was handled and treated by the media was not done in the most appropriate manner to keep Americans safe, but they are still within their rights to be conducted.

The surveillance program was originally established under President George W. Bush’s term in 2007, and has allegedly seen exponential growth under President Obama.

Reach Executive Producer Eric Parra here.