As was noted in the writeup of the ODNI‘s First Ever Transparency Report, this tentative and forced step into transparency was a step forward for No Such Agency, even if each document release has been accompanied by the unmistakable sound of gritting teeth and a nearly universal refusal to acknowledge that most of the „openness“ had been compelled by court orders following FOIA lawsuits.

Also noted was the fact that the new transparency was short a few documents, namely the March renewal order for the bulk phone metadata collection. Lo and behold and under the cover of late Friday afternoon (to better be smuggled in as the nation punched its collective timeclock), the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released two orders: the March and June renewals of the bulk records collections.