( CNN ) -- When it comes to leadership and personal responsibility , President Barack Obama has made his stance very clear : `` The buck stops with me . '' It 's a phrase he 's echoed countless times in the past . But now , he 's dealing with an accountability double-whammy -- fallout from the botched Obamacare website and global fury over the wiretapping of some allied leaders ' conversations . So what all did the President know , and when did he find out ? Depends on who you ask . Some U.S. officials have said that Obama did n't know about problems with the health care enrollment site before it launched and that he only recently learned about a National Security Agency operation that wiretapped German Chancellor Angela Merkel 's phone for a decade . `` It is my understanding that President Obama was not aware Chancellor Merkel 's communications were being collected since 2002 , '' Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein said . `` That is a big problem . '' But other officials said Obama -- or at least his White House staff -- did know about it . Questions about what the President knew and when he knew it have important implications , analysts say . If Obama was aware , that could mean he is n't being clear with the American public now . And if he was n't aware , that could mean his own staff kept him in the dark . `` There 's really no good answer , '' said Republican strategist Kevin Madden . `` If he knew , essentially we 're being misled by different people in the administration about the extent of the President 's knowledge . If he did n't know , it 's an abdication of even the most basic responsibilities of the command and control over very important parts of his administration , and that becomes a problem . '' White House : Do n't tie issues together . In an exclusive interview with CNN last week , Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the President did n't know of problems with the Affordable Care Act 's website until after its fumbled launch on Oct. 1 -- even though insurance companies had been complaining and the site crashed during a pre-launch test run . White House spokesman Jay Carney declined to detail what Obama knew and when . On Monday , he said tying topics like problems with the Obamacare website and reports about NSA spying is `` conflating a bunch of very disparate issues . '' Carney said he would n't `` get into individual reports about specific programs , '' and would provide more details once a White House review of U.S. surveillance is complete . Feinstein said the White House has told her that data collection on U.S. allies will stop . But a senior administration official said Feinstein 's statement was not completely accurate . The official said some changes have been made , but they are not across-the-board changes in policy like terminating intelligence collection aimed at allies . Germany 's not the only country seething over the reports of U.S. spying . Spain has summoned U.S. Ambssador James Costos to discuss an El Pais newspaper report that quoted unnamed sources as saying the NSA spied on Spanish officials and politicians . Much of the focus is on expanded surveillance under the Patriot Act passed in the aftermath of the September 11 , 2001 , terrorist attacks . Many of the secrets spilling out about the NSA 's surveillance program came from leaks by former agency contractor Edward Snowden , who was granted temporary political asylum in Russia . Experts : Not every detail disclosed . It 's plausible that Obama would n't know about specific surveillance targets , said CNN National Security Analyst Fran Townsend , a member of the CIA external advisory board . She said overall intelligence collection priorities are well-known by the White House . `` Specific targets , however , ( like ) Angela Merkel 's cell phone , are not the sort of thing discussed with the President of the United States . '' No one should expect the President to know everything the NSA is doing , said Julian Zelizer , a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University . `` But when you 're talking about the surveillance of world leaders , and an issue that 's been controversial for a while now , you would expect that there 's some knowledge either by the President or people surrounding him . ... I do think there 's surprise that this was off the radar in the inner circles of the White House . '' Time for change ? Republican Rep. Peter King , a key member of the Homeland Security Committee , said if the surveillance happened without the President 's knowledge , it has larger implications . `` I would say if the President did not know , that raises very serious questions about what he 's doing as chief executive . The fact he would be going into negotiations and discussions and meetings with Angela Merkel or French leaders -- or any leaders for that matter -- and not be aware that there was surveillance going on of the private phone calls , to me either something is definitely wrong in his administration or he just has a totally hands-off attitude . To me , this is unacceptable . '' Ross Douthat , a CNN political commentator and a columnist for The New York Times , wondered whether some officials would lose their jobs if the President really was n't informed . `` The question becomes , why do the people who failed to keep him in the loop still have their jobs ? '' he asked . No matter what Obama knew , or when , some say it 's time for a new approach . `` He has often said that he did n't know what was going on with the ( HealthCare.gov ) website . ... He ca n't pretend he does n't know and walk away from problems anymore , because he has been caught too many times out of the loop , '' said A.B . Stoddard , associate editor of The Hill . `` He ca n't do his job that way . '' CNN 's Tom Cohen , Jake Tapper , Jim Sciutto , Elise Labott , Brooke Baldwin and Jim Acosta contributed to this report .
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman : Obama should have been told of some things . Officials say Obama did n't know details of the HealthCare.gov website glitches and U.S. government programs . Republican strategist : ` ` There 's really no good . '' Obama : ` ` Why do the people who failed to keep him in the loop still have their secrets ? ''