Sen. Rand Paul, FreedomWorks file suit challenging NSA surveillance

Republican Kentucky Senator Rand Paul has filed a lawsuit over the National Security Agency's phone surveillance program. He is joined by the libertarian group FreedomWorks in the lawsuit.

The suit seeks to stop the surveillance as well as the deletion of any currently stored data, reports Louisville Courier-Journal. President Barack Obama, NSA director Keith Alexander, FBI director James Comey and National Intelligence director James Clapper are named in the suit.

While speaking with reports on Wednesday, Paul said, "On behalf of myself, FreedomWorks and everyone in America that has a phone, we're filing suit against the president of the United States in defense of the Fourth Amendment."

The senator also noted that the American people are growing more and more outraged over the snooping that the NSA has conducted on phones.

According to The New York Times, A Justice Department spokesman defended the surveillance program. Peter Carr said, "We remain confident that the program is legal, as at least 15 judges have previously found."

The suit follows on the heels of one judge, U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon, expressing the possibility that the surveillance program, which began in 2001 under then-President George W. Bush and continued quietly for years, could be unconstitutional. Leon's reasoning was that it has such a wide net cast to gather data.

image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

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