Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., announced Friday he is moving ahead with plans to file a class-action lawsuit against the National Security Agency.
If Paul files his constitutional challenge in Washington, D.C., it’s possible the lawsuit will be considered “in tandem” with an existing lawsuit filed by Freedom Watch founder Larry Klayman.
Klayman filed the first class-action lawsuit against the NSA’s bulk phone record collection after Edward Snowden’s leaks in June. He also filed a class-action lawsuit challenging the NSA’s PRISM Internet program.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon awarded Klayman a preliminary injunction against the phone program Dec. 16, but stayed implementation pending appeal. The “almost Orwellian” program “almost certainly” violates Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights, Leon ruled.
The ruling pushed Paul – who began soliciting volunteer plaintiffs in June – off the fence. For six months, the prospective 2016 presidential candidate weighed either forging ahead with a lawsuit or sitting back and assisting with three already-filed lawsuits brought by Klayman, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
As late as December, Paul hadn’t decided which route to take. A senior Paul staffer said Leon’s decision – which also found the plaintiffs have standing to sue – nudged him toward filing suit with his “hundreds of thousands” of volunteer plaintiffs.
Full article: http://www.randpaulr … -may-already-be-won/
