Washington Post | 7 May 2015
A federal appeals court on Thursday ruled that the National Security Agency’s collection of millions of Americans’ phone records violates the Patriot Act, marking the first time an appellate panel has weighed in on a controversial surveillance program that has divided Congress and ignited a national debate over the proper scope of the government’s spy powers.
In a blistering 97-page opinion, a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit overturned a lower court and determined that the government had stretched the meaning of the statute to enable “sweeping surveillance” of Americans’ data in “staggering” volumes.
The ruling comes as Congress begins a contentious debate over whether to reauthorize the statute that underpins the NSA program or let it lapse. The court did not issue an injunction ordering the program to stop.
[With deadline near, lawmakers introduce bill to end NSA program]
The NSA’s mass collection of phone records for counterterrorism purposes — launched after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks — was revealed by former agency contractor Edward Snowden in June 2013. The revelation sparked outrage but also steadfast assertions by the Obama administration that the program was authorized by statute and deemed legal by a series of federal surveillance court judges.