According to the newspaper’s sources, send the NSA a recommendation to the White house to put an end to the once-secret surveillance because of the legal and logistical burden it represents weighs heavier than the merit one gets in the form of information.

the NSA’s authorization to conduct surveillance to be renewed annually by congress at the initiative of the White house. The business was a secret until it was revealed by Edward Snowden in 2013.

Neither the NSA or the White house have commented on The Wall Street Journal’s data.