Yes, I would consider it out of the blue. Sen Wyden posed follow-up question to something that Gen Alexander said 8 months earlier, and he waited until the day

Yes, I would consider it out of the blue. Sen Wyden posed follow-up question to something that Gen Alexander said 8 months earlier, and he waited until the day before to pose it instead to DNI Clapper at a committee hearing that 1) was focused on developments in overseas national security threats over the past year and 2) Gen Alexander wasn't going to be present for. I don't doubt for a second that Clapper didn't see it - you don't wait until the last moment to submit a question unless you're trying to pull a political stunt. If he sent it a week or two prior, I could understand some outrage. I have no idea what was going through Clapper's head at the time - maybe he did consider the 215 program or maybe he didn't. What he said was factually wrong and he tried to correct it but couldn't do so publicly. This isn't trying to get the truth out - this is politics. Wyden is an elected representative - he has a duty to act in the best interests of his constituents. He was fully briefed on the program. If he felt that the information should have been public, he should have made it public - as a sitting member of the Senate he was authorized to do so. James Clapper was not. Wyden didn't correct Clapper on the spot. He didn't ask for more details. He didn't ask something like 'can you address any domestic collection programs that would fall under the Section 215 authorities?' He didn't do a damn thing publicly until the program was leaked months later, then used it as an opportunity to advance his own political career. Don't act like Clapper is some sort villain but Wyden is a hero.