Federal Judge At Odds With Federal Judge's Ruling That NSA's Conduct Is Unconstitutional
Victory USA
Notwithstanding Constitution
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http://nation.time.com/2013/12/27/federal-judge-says-nsa-data-collection-is-legal/
Federal Judge Says NSA Data Collection Is Legal
Increasing chance that Supreme Court will ultimately decide the issue
A federal judge in New York said Friday that the National Security Agency can legally collect massive amounts of telephone records, disagreeing with a different judge and increasing the possibility that the issue will ultimately go before the Supreme Court.
Judge William Pauley ruled that the practice of collecting so-called “metadata” on millions of Americans’ phone calls does not violate privacy protections in the Constitution because the data is collected by third parties like telephone companies, and the NSA cannot immediately connect a number with a name. He also said the practice could have been used to prevent attacks like the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks had it been in place at the time, the New York Times reports.
Pauley granted a motion by the federal government to dismiss a suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union.
“We are pleased the court found the NSA’s bulk telephony metadata collection program to be lawful,” Peter Carr, a spokesperson for the Justice Department, said in a statement. A lawyer for the ACLU told the AP that the group will appeal the decision.
Earlier this month, Judge Richard Leon said the program is likely unconstitutional, in what was then the first legal setback to the NSA since former contractor Edward Snowden leaked records about the program this year.
Read Pauley’s full ruling here.
Search
And Seizure
And The NSA
By Ron Branson
National JAIL4Judges Commander-In-Chief
12/24/2013
One of the more controversial issues of
the day is that regarding the National Security Agency (N.S.A.),
namely, the seizing of everyone's telephone and internet
communications. Just this last week surprisingly 60 Minutes was
granted an interview of the NSA. One of the questions presented
to the NSA was regarding how many public interviews the NSA has
conducted over the years. The response given was one, only this
current one. Obviously, the NSA is concerned over its own
privacy, and the only reason they granted this interview with 60
Minutes was because so much public heat has been directed
towards the NSA over the recent Snowden exposure of its
collection of information on every American citizen in this
country.
It was interesting to listen to their excuses and their defenses
for their actions. First off, they claim they are gathering such
information for the defense and the protection of this nation
against terrorist worldwide. While they admit to gathering such
information against all Americans, they claim they do not sift
through it personally except in connection with foreign
intelligence. But even here, they admit to sifting through such
personal data of foreign potentates, such as German Chancellor
Angela Merkel. She is not even remotely suspected to be
connected with foreign terrorism, or the overthrow of America,
foreign or domestic. In fact, the nation of Germany is
determined to be a friendly nation toward the United States.
Nonetheless, we have provided to her just cause to be hopping
mad over being personally monitored by NSA snooping into her
personal affair and conversations. What is really happening is
we are straining our relations with those who have established
most favored nation status. It can't be helped for one to wonder
if Barack Obama would be hopping mad to discover that all his
personal and confidential communications were being monitored by
governments around the world who hold most favored-nation
status.
NSA claims they are abiding by their Oath to faithfully observe
the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution which says, "The right
of the People to be secure in their Persons, papers, and
effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not
be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon Probable
Cause, supported by Oath or Affirmation, and particularly
describing the place to be searched, and the Persons or things
to be seized." (December 15, 1791).
NSA says there is a FISA judge issuing the warrants for their
clandestine activities. Further, they claim that when they have
acted in the absence of a court warrant, these were only actions
conducted through mistake and by error of their employees.
Hence, violations of their Oaths to faithfully observe the
Fourth Amendment must be excused based upon human error, as they
are handling such massive volumes of information on so many
People. In such cases they have been found to gather personal
and private information on ex spouses and girlfriends, etc.
But, as John Wolfgram, a personal acquaintance of this author
for many years, points out, while most criticism and defenses
put forth regarding NSA is based upon the "Search" aspect of the
Fourth Amendment, the real violation of their Oaths of Office is
based upon the "Seizure" aspect of the Fourth Amendment. NSA
claims the information gathered on Americans is not personally
sifted through for particulars, but they are only holders of
such information just in case they should need it in the future.
NSA claims they can go back at least five years on every person
in America when the FISA Court is satisfied that there exists
Probable Cause regarding any person. But Wolfgram raises the
issue of how they came of such information in the first place
rather than what might such information prove. Did the FISA
judge write out and issue millions of warrants on every American
in the "seizing" their such personal information? Thus, the
issue is, according to Wolfgram, is not what are they going to
do with all this massive amounts of information they have
collected on every American,, but rather how did they come to
possess such information in the first place. NSA certainly did
not ask the permission of all Americans to gather their phone
and internet information.Neither was there Probable Cause
established to gather it.
Accordingly, such information must constitutionally be deleted
and removed from every NSA computer record unless they can prove
they first constitutionally sought for and did obtained a lawful
warrant for its seizure.
Ron Branson
Victo...@jail4judges.org
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