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NSA revelations: A timeline of what's come out since Snowden leaks began

Since Edward Snowden's first published leak about National Security Agency surveillance techniques appeared in The Guardian on June 5, new revelations have been steadily trickling out. Here's a look at what we've learned since June, broken down by 16 key dates. 

July 31, 2013

Cliff Owen/AP/File
A photo of the the US Courthouse in Washington where the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court resides.

The Guardian details "XKeyscore," a wide-reaching program that allows analysts to search through expansive databases of user data. Snowden hinted at XKeyscore in his first interview, and said it was so powerful that he could have wiretapped "anyone, from you or your accountant, to a federal judge, or even the president, if I had a personal email." 

Why is this important? The secretive nature of the program, which was authorized in secret proceedings by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), drew attention to the massive volume of information at the NSA's disposal.

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