Comment by groomlake
10 hours ago
NSA's mission, as outlined in Executive Order 12333 in 1981, is to collect information that constitutes "foreign intelligence or counterintelligence" while not "acquiring information concerning the domestic activities of United States persons".
– Wikipedia
Whether they abide by that is another matter.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NSA_warrantless_surveillance_(...
Well, you see, Your Honor, when the foreign entities do the spying inside the US, they inevitably become one side in the domestic activities of United States persons. So it's only reasonable to conclude that this part of the Executive Order is null and void.