NSA 'probably' collects US Congress telephone call data, official admits

A US official has acknowledged that the NSA likely scoops up data on congressional telephone communications but stopped short of saying whether such action extended to calls made by President Barack Obama.

The tense exchange occurred on Tuesday during a hearing on the status of the administration's reforms of the bulk data collection programme exposed last year by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.

Deputy Attorney General James Cole, testifying before the House Judiciary Committee, hesitated when asked whether the controversial NSA programme that gathers the numbers, call times and lengths of virtually every US phone call extended to communications by members of Congress and executive branch officials.

Congressman Darrell Issa, a House Republican known for his criticism of the Obama White House, asked specifically whether the programme was scooping up information from "202-225-and four digits", the phone exchange for House of Representatives offices.

"Without going specifically, probably we do, congressman," Cole said.

Issa then asked whether the president's phone calls were targeted by the programme.