PHOTOS: 2013's memorable political moments



He said he also is considering proposals to create a permanent staff of lawyers to advocate for the public, or to allow outside groups to file "amicus briefs," in cases before the Foreign

Intelligence Surveillance Court, which has approved the telephone surveillance effort. The goal, he said, is to ensure the 11 judges on the court hear a voice raising civil liberties concerns.



"It's not enough for me as president to have confidence in these programs," Obama said in the White House East Room. "The American people have to have confidence in them, as well."



One idea under consideration at the White House, aides said, would require telecommunication companies to archive domestic telephone calling records, rather than the government, so the NSA could obtain a warrant and search it for numbers linked to suspected terrorists overseas.



As the president spoke, the Justice Department released a 24-page administration White Paper that explains the government's legal basis for the NSA's bulk collection of so-called telephone metadata - phone numbers, duration and dates, but not names or content - under Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act.



Following Snowden's disclosures that the NSA has secretly collected domestic telephone records, as well as the contents of Americans' emails, texts, chats and videos while targeting the Internet activity of foreigners, the president has largely defended the system as designed to fight terrorism without invading the privacy of Americans.