Americans are divided over the government's domestic surveillance, but think their rights and freedoms could be threatened by the spying, according to a new CNN/ORC International poll released Monday.

The survey of 1.014 adults was taken June 11-13, as news about two surveillance programs dominated the news.

Asked if "the federal government has become so large and powerful that it poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens," 62 percent said yes.

But the public saw some value in the programs, and were critical of self-confessed leaker Edward Snowden.

"As you may know, details of the government collection of phone records and internet data were revealed when a former government contractor named Edward Snowden leaked classified information about those government programs to two newspapers.  Do you approve or disapprove of Snowden's actions?" the poll asked.

Forty-four percent approved, while 52 percent disapproved.

Opinion was split on whether the programs were right. "Do you think the Obama administration was right or wrong in gathering and analyzing those phone records?" the survey asked. Fifty-one percent said it was right, while 48 percent said it was wrong.

To read more: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/06/17/cnn-poll-obama-approval-falls-amid-controversies/

"It's against the law for the NSA to record and monitor Americans' phone calls. It's against the law, and the law is very clear on this," House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Mich., told CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday.

Rogers explained that the data is in a "lock box."

He called it "a lock box of only phone numbers, no names, no addresses." For that data to get further, "it would mean that the NSA have to conspire with the FBI, would have to conspire with both parties in Congress on the intelligence committees and the oversight functions in the executive branch to do something beyond what the law very narrowly allows. I just find that implausible."

But what, asked moderator Candy Crowley, about allegations someone from NSA had been listening in on a phone call without a warrant in on case.

"I can't tell you how strong we need to make this clear," Rogers said. "The NSA is not listening to Americans' phone calls, and it is not monitoring their e-mails. If it did, it's illegal. It's breaking the law."

And not recording them either, Crowley asked?

"I could go get a warrant on a criminal case, yes, absolutely," Rogers explained, "but that's very, very different. And I think they think that there's this mass surveillance of what you're saying on your phone call and what you're typing in your e-mails. That is just not happening. And it's important, I think, for people to understand because there's all this misinformation about what these programs are."

House Speaker John Boehner made it clear Thursday he's still strongly supporting controversial domestic surveillance programs.

"I've made it very clear this program does not target innocent Americans in any way, shape or form.  These programs have helped keep America safe," he said at his weekly news conference.

"They've enhanced our ability to go after terrorists who want to bring harm to the American people."

Boehner called on the White House to explain the programs more fully.

''Frankly, I'm a little surprised that the White House hasn't stood up and made clear on an ongoing basis over this last week just how important these programs are," he said.

"For those of us who have been briefed on these programs, who are aware of these programs, we're aware how much safety they brought us.  And we're also aware of many examples where they've helped us eliminate terrorist threats."

A bipartisan group of senators Tuesday introduced legislation to end the "secret law" that keeps details about government surveillance programs secret.

Under the bill, the Attorney General would be required to declassify "significant Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court opinions."

Doing so, the senators said in a joint statement, would allow "Americans to know how broad of a legal authority the government is claiming to spy on Americans under the Patriot Act and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act."

Sponsors include Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Mike Lee, R-Utah,, Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Dean Heller, R-Nev., Mark Begich, D-Alaska, Al Franken, D-Minn., Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore. 

“Americans deserve to know how much information about their private communications the government believes it’s allowed to take under the law," Merkley said.

“There is plenty of room to have this debate without compromising our surveillance sources or methods or tipping our hand to our enemies.  We can’t have a serious debate about how much surveillance of Americans’ communications should be permitted without ending secret law.”

House Speaker John Boehner Tuesday declared Edward Snowden, who leaked top secret domestic spy data to the media, a "traitor."

Boehner, R-Ohio, spoke to ABC's "Good Morning America."

"He's a traitor," the speaker said. "The president outlined last week that these were important national security programs to help keep Americans safe, and give us tools to fight the terrorist threat  that we face."

Boehner supported the program. "The president also outlined that there are appropriate safeguards in place  to make sure that there's no snooping, if you will on Americans here at home."

What troubled the speaker was "the disclosure of this information puts Americans at risk.  It shows our adversaries what our capabilities are.  And it's a giant violation of the law."

Read the entire interview here.

After a former CIA employee revealed himself to the Guardian as the leaker of classified surveillance programs, President Barack Obama's admnistration said they were investigating the case.

The office of the director of national intelligence said "the intelligence community is currently reviewing the damage that has been done by these recent disclosures. Any person who has a security clearance knows that he or she has an obligation to protect classified information and abide by the law."

The leaker is identified as Edward Snowden, 29, a former CIA technical assistant and current employee of the defence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. Snowden has been working at the National Security Agency for four years as a contract employee.

"I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong," he told the newspaper.

The White House on Thursday did not confirm a newspaper report that the National Security Agency is collecting the telephone records of tens of millions of American customers of Verizon under a secret court order issued in April, but defended the practice.

"On its face, the order reprinted in the article does not allow the government to listen in on anyone's telephone calls," a senior administration official said. "The information acquired does not include the content of any communications or the name of any subscriber. It relates exclusively to metadata, such as a telephone number or the length of a call."

The order, first reported by the Guardian newspaper, requires a Verizon subsidiary to provide the NSA with daily information on calls by its customers in the United States and from foreign locations into the United States.

"Information of the sort described in the Guardian article has been a critical tool in protecting the nation from terrorist threats to the United States, as it allows counterterrorism personnel to discover whether known or suspected terrorists have been in contact with other persons who may be engaged in terrorist activities, particularly people located inside the United States," the official said.

The Internal Revenue Service and Benghazi stories may be consuming Washington, but in the rest of America, not so much.

"The amount of attention Americans are paying to the IRS and the Benghazi situations is well below the average for news stories Gallup has tracked over the years," a new Gallup poll found.

Democrats are not paying much attention, nor are independents, said the survey released Friday--though Republicans are paying a lot of attention.

"Republicans are also much more likely than Democrats to strongly agree that both situations are serious enough to require investigation," according to a Gallup analaysis.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez, D-N.J., is moving quickly on legislation that would provide humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people and "limited lethal and non-lethal weapons to vetted Syrian groups."

“The Assad regime has crossed a red line that forces us to consider all options,” Menendez said. “The greatest humanitarian crisis in the world is unfolding in and around Syria, and the U.S. must play a role in tipping the scales toward opposition groups and working to build a free Syria.”

He insisted "there will be no greater strategic setback to Iran than to have the Assad regime collapse, and cause a disruption to the terror pipeline between Tehran and Hezbollah in Lebanon."

Here's his office's summary of his bill, which the full committee plans to begin considering next Tuesday:

Republicans took a pause from partisan politics in their weekly address Saturday, as Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., praised first responders in the Boston Marathon incident.

"This week, on Patriot’s Day, a day that celebrates the beginning of our country’s journey toward freedom, a horrific tragedy occurred," he said. "The Boston Marathon bombing has left us all with a heavy heart and we pray for the victims and their families.

"However, while the perpetrators of this act of terror hoped that they could shake the confidence of a city, they have instead only strengthened the resolve of our nation. This became apparent immediately as first responders ran towards unknown dangers."

Scott called them "amazing Americans, some of whom charged through fences and barricades, put their own lives on the line to help others. We are so thankful for these women and men, who on a daily basis sacrifice for our nation—they are our friends, our family, our neighbors."

For the rest of the address:http://www.republican.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=weekly