Skeptical of program’s effectiveness.......

A US government probe has concluded that a secret wiretap program launched after the September 11, 2001 attacks had a “limited role” in preventing fresh strikes. The report found that most intelligence officials “had difficulty citing specific instances” when the National Security Agency’s covert wiretapping in the country contributed to successes against terrorists...Link

Congressional group asks for Fed probe...

WASHINGTON, July 10 (Reuters) - In the latest political swing at the Federal Reserve, 14 Republican and 3 Democratic members of the House of Representatives on Friday asked the White House to investigate the U.S. central bank before granting it greater regulatory power. President Barack Obama has proposed making the Fed the chief U.S. systemic risk regulator to prevent a recurrence of a financial crisis last year which tipped the country into the longest recession since the Great Depression. But Rep. Scott Garrett, Republican from New Jersey, urged Obama to think twice before concentrating that much authority in the hands of the Fed, and called for a probe of its role in Bank of America's (BAC.N) takeover last year of Merrill Lynch...Link