Bruce Schneier had to brief a branch of government on a government agency today:

This morning I spent an hour in a closed room with six Members of Congress: Rep. Logfren, Rep. Sensenbrenner, Rep. Scott, Rep. Goodlate, Rep Thompson, and Rep. Amash. No staffers, no public: just them. Lofgren asked me to brief her and a few Representatives on the NSA. She said that the NSA wasn't forthcoming about their activities, and they wanted me -- as someone with access to the Snowden documents -- to explain to them what the NSA was doing. Of course I'm not going to give details on the meeting, except to say that it was candid and interesting. And that it's extremely freaky that Congress has such a difficult time getting information out of the NSA that they have to ask me. I really want oversight to work better in this country.

If there's this level of government oversight on the NSA - i.e., practically none - and if the NSA is actively spying on government, which seems likely, it's fair to describe them as a superlegal organization. They're effectively above the law, above the government, and above democracy. All in the name of security. Is this the kind of agency that should exist in a country whose stated principles all relate to representative democracy and individual freedom?