Rep. Michael McCaul (R., Tex.) said on Meet the Press Sunday that he did not believe President Obama's assertion that he would have done a review of NSA surveillance programs anyway before Edward Snowden's leaks, adding Obama had been "backtracking" ever since Snowden released the information.
Pointing out the scandals that have plagued the White House in Obama's second term, McCaul argued people didn't trust the administration with their tax or phone records, and Obama had done a poor job of explaining the viability of the NSA's methods:
DAVID GREGORY: Chairman McCaul, do you believe that, that this administration really did welcome the debate, that he would have reviewed these surveillance programs were it not for Edward Snowden?
MCCAUL: I see no evidence of that. I think Snowden came out, leaked this information, and the White House has been backtracking ever since. I think when the story initially broke, the president went undercover. He just finally came out last Friday trying to come up with ways to salvage the program by window dressing, forming a website, for instance, an outside group. And the problem fundamentally is he's failed to explain these programs which are lawful, which have saved lives, which have stopped terrorist plots. He has not adequately explained them or defended them, and now he's in a bit of a mess, and I'll tell you why. Because on the heels of the IRS scandal, where people don't trust this government, this administration with their tax records, they sure don't trust this administration with their phone records. I think that's the dilemma the president's in right now.