# The U.S. Secret Service was eavesdropping on Princess Diana? WTF? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 10, 2006, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-secret-service-was-eavesdropping-on-princess-diana-wtf/383540 "2006-12-10T05:26:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-secret-service-was-eavesdropping-on-princess-diana-wtf/383540/1 "2006-12-10T05:26:52Z")
[http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/12/09/britain.diana.ap/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/12/09/britain.diana.ap/index.html) What possible interest would the USSS have in listening in on Prince Charles’s ex-wife? Did they think she and Dodi were counterfeiting, or plotting against President Clinton’s life? The mind boggles. ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-secret-service-was-eavesdropping-on-princess-diana-wtf/383540/2 "2006-12-10T05:38:16Z")
Maybe Clinton just wanted to capture some phone sex on tape for his own “entertainment” ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-secret-service-was-eavesdropping-on-princess-diana-wtf/383540/3 "2006-12-10T07:10:04Z")
Having worked for DOD for 35 years, one thing I learned about security people is that paranoia is an occupational trait. They are professionally suspicious, (they have to be) and have an insatiable desire to know everything about everybody. You would be amazed at what is in _your_ file. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-secret-service-was-eavesdropping-on-princess-diana-wtf/383540/4 "2006-12-10T07:24:07Z")
They were doing so as a favor for British Intelligence, and turning the results over to them. But this allowed the British government to truthfully say “ **we** are not eavesdropping on Princess Diana”. This is just a WAG; I have absolutely no actual info on this. But I wouldn’t be surprised if it was true. ---
**Author:** ![Pjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pjen)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-secret-service-was-eavesdropping-on-princess-diana-wtf/383540/5 "2006-12-10T14:45:24Z")
[QUOTE=t-bonham@scc.net] They were doing so as a favor for British Intelligence, and turning the results over to them. But this allowed the British government to truthfully say “ **we** are not eavesdropping on Princess Diana”. This is just a WAG; I have absolutely no actual info on this. But I wouldn’t be surprised if it was true. [/QUOTE] It works both ways. How do you think the US intelligence services get round restrictions on phone-tapping in the US? ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-secret-service-was-eavesdropping-on-princess-diana-wtf/383540/6 "2006-12-10T16:16:16Z")
[QUOTE=Pjen] It works both ways. How do you think the US intelligence services get round restrictions on phone-tapping in the US? [/QUOTE] Restrictions? On phone-tapping? I think you have us confused with some liberal democracy. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-secret-service-was-eavesdropping-on-princess-diana-wtf/383540/7 "2006-12-10T16:21:54Z")
[QUOTE=David Simmons] Having worked for DOD for 35 years, one thing I learned about security people is that paranoia is an occupational trait. They are professionally suspicious, (they have to be) and have an insatiable desire to know everything about everybody. You would be amazed at what is in _your_ file. 🙂 [/QUOTE] [Wilford Brimley in the movie The Firm] “You pay me to worry when there is nothing to worry about” [/Wilford Brimley in the movie The Firm] ---
**Author:** ![Sonia\_Montdore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Sonia\_Montdore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sonia_Montdore)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-secret-service-was-eavesdropping-on-princess-diana-wtf/383540/8 "2006-12-10T23:10:25Z")
The US was worried bout Di’s anti-land-mine campaign. ---
**Author:** ![CheeringElvi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/46a35a/32.png) [@CheeringElvi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheeringElvi)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2006, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-secret-service-was-eavesdropping-on-princess-diana-wtf/383540/9 "2006-12-12T17:17:55Z")
[QUOTE=Sonia Montdore] The US was worried bout Di’s anti-land-mine campaign. [/QUOTE] Do you know this or is this just a best guess? Just curious. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2006, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-secret-service-was-eavesdropping-on-princess-diana-wtf/383540/10 "2006-12-13T13:57:14Z")
Now the NSA says “We didn’t do it.” No word from the USSS, though. [http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/12/12/diane.eavesdropping.ap/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/12/12/diane.eavesdropping.ap/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-secret-service-was-eavesdropping-on-princess-diana-wtf/383540/11 "2006-12-23T12:50:21Z")
Icant honestly think of anything of any importance that Diana would have been in any position to find out about in the first place if it wasn’t already public knowledge . No body would have told her any state secrets when she WAS married to Charlie let alone afterwards so what on earth would any eavesdroppers hope to gain by "bugging "her? ---
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-u-s-secret-service-was-eavesdropping-on-princess-diana-wtf/383540/12 "2006-12-23T14:16:10Z")
Except for the British press sensationalism pre-release, I don’t think there is any evidence that this happened in anyway close to the way originally portrayed. I don’t think the U.S. ever “spied on” Diana. From [here](http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=ZTZlODYxYzYxMmU4YTg0NWM5NGM5NGRiZWMwNTRkMzU=) \*On Tuesday, writing about stories in the British press that U.S. intelligence services spied on Princess Diana, I wrote, “The first thing to remember…is that British press accounts can be notoriously unreliable.” Then I wrote, “We’ll know more about the story on Thursday morning, when results of the Lord Stevens inquiry into Diana’s death are released to the public.” Well, the Lord Stevens report was released Thursday morning, we do know more, and it turns out the British press accounts were notoriously unreliable. \* He goes on to note that there was evidence of a one-off intercept of the Brazilian Embassy, the wife of the Ambassador was a Diana good friend, & called her from the Embassy. He further claims that most of the rumors were started by Al-Fayed (w/o offering evidence for this). [Cite #2](http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061215/ZNYT03/612150437) Cite # 3 Lord Stevens’ Report on-line [(pdf pops)](http://files.homeoffice.gov.uk/OperationPagetReport.pdf)