Obama to meet security watchdog, reassure Americans he’s not spying on them

President Barack Obama will meet with a national security watchdog Friday afternoon, in an attempt to reassure them over the recent National Security Agency surveillance scandal. 

Obama will sit down with the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, a five-person independent agency that has been largely dormant since 2008, Reuters reported.

It held its first full-fledged meeting on Wednesday after the Senate confirmed David Medine as its chairman last month.

"Based on what we've learned so far, the board believes further questions are warranted" of Obama, Medine told Reuters.

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Obama’s approval rating has slipped after NSA contractor Edward Snowden revealed the agency requested “metadata” from tech giants like Facebook and cellphone provider Verizon, among others.

During the meeting, Obama is also expected to answer questions about why he asked the Director of National Intelligence to declassify documents surrounding the surveillance program, USA Today said.

The White House said the president was meeting with the board to “better contextualize these programs, correct misrepresentations, and provide an opportunity for the dialog he welcomes about the right balance between national security and privacy.”

Also on Friday, Obama is expected to nominate Jim Comey as new director of the FBI, the Guardian reported.

Robert Mueller is expected to retire after his current term ends later this year.

The 52-year-old Comey worked in the Justice Department and was deputy US attorney general in the George W. Bush administration.

"In more than two decades as a prosecutor and national security professional, Jim has demonstrated unwavering toughness, integrity, and principle in defending both our security and our values," a White House official told the Guardian.

Comey also gained notoriety in 2004 when he refused to "certify the legal aspects of NSA domestic surveillance during a stint as acting attorney general," the Guardian reported.  

Reuters contributed to this article.

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