Obama's Response To Public Discontent With NSA Spying? Appointing A Panel Effectively Run By The DNI

I find it ever more difficult to admire what is admirable in President Obama, when he pulls stunts like this:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Stung by public unease about new details of spying by the National Security Agency, President Barack Obama selected a panel of advisers he described as independent experts to scrutinize the NSA's surveillance programs to be sure they weren't violating civil liberties and to restore Americans' trust.

But with just weeks remaining before its first deadline to report back to the White House, the review panel has effectively been operating as an arm of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees the NSA and all other U.S. spy efforts.

...

(Bolds mine. - SB)

So... how close is the connection between this "independent" panel and the DNI?

• The DNI's office loans them office space.
• The DNI's press office coordinates their press releases.
• The DNI himself (James Clapper) exempted the panel from requirements of public access to panel proceedings.
• The name of the panel is... wait for it... "Director of National Intelligence Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies."

Could a panel be more wholly owned than this one?

(H/T Bill Moyers.)