"When I want to communicate with a foreign leader privately, I type or write a letter myself, put it in the post office, and mail it," Carter said with a laugh, as he was questioned on the matter on NBC's "Meet the Press" program.
"I have felt that my own communications are probably monitored," he said on today's show.
A trove of documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden have sparked outrage in the United States and abroad about the vast capabilities of America's intelligence programs.
Asked whether the programs were necessary, Carter said he thought they had "been extremely liberalized and, I think, abused by our own intelligence agencies."
"I believe if I send an email, it will be monitored," he said.
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