Report: TSA Misled on Airline Passenger Data

The Transportation Security Administration misled the public about its role in obtaining personal information about 12 million airline passengers to test a new computerized system that screens for terrorists, according to a government investigation.

The report, released Friday by Homeland Security Department Acting Inspector General Richard Skinner, said the agency misinformed individuals, the media and Congress in 2003 and 2004. It stopped short of saying the TSA lied.

''TSA officials made inaccurate statements regarding these transfers that undermined public trust in the agency,'' the report said. ''These misstatements were apparently not meant to mischaracterize known facts. Instead, they were premised on an incomplete understanding of the underlying facts.''

Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., said the agency took months to disclose its role in getting the data.

''The American public must know their personal information is well protected, or they will distrust the new systems we need to keep our nation safe,'' Lieberman said in a statement.