I'm surprised you're falling for this AS... "the agents we interviewed did not identify any major case developments". What about the agents they didn't interview. That quotation is hardly conclusive especially considering the agents who are in the know are probably not permitted to discuss any aspect of these operations. Remember when we were tracking Osama Bin Laden's cell phone...once that information got out no more cell phone communication. I am OK with not discussing operational details of our intelligence gathering efforts.
I'm against big government interference in my life as much as the next person, but I'm not worried about their interest in my phone calls.