http://www.salon.com/2013/08/22/nsa_reveals_more_secrets_after_court_order_ap/
The details here do seem to suggest that much of the email traffic the NSA swept us, it did so accidentally. The NSA claims it discarded citizen's domestic emails after it realized what they were. The FISA court claims it said that wasn't good enough, so the NSA changed its filters.
Part of the problem is that the NSA (No Such Agency) is so defined by secrecy that they can't even admit evidence that would seem to make them look good. This revelation shows that there are processes at work that help protect civil liberties. It isn't perfect, but the NSA is not trying to spy on Americans.
Maybe if they had released this finding back in June, they could have short circuited the momentum behind this story. It never would have satisfied Greenwald and Co., but it would have been better than the "Trust us!" defense that they came up with.
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