FISA and Sen Paul Face Off Over Domestic Spying

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has greenlighted the government's continued collection of call logs from millions of Americans, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper disclosed, as demands for the program’s abolishment reached new heights. Sen Rand Paul (R-KY), a potential 2016 presidential contender, responded saying he will file a class action lawsuit against the government to stop the surveillance.

DNI officials had attempted to preempt such blowback when they announced the court's blessing. They made promises to declassify the court order and consider a recommendation to shift data collection to private companies. "In light of the significant and continuing public interest in the telephony metadata collection program, DNI Clapper has decided to declassify and disclose publicly that the government filed an application with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court seeking renewal of the authority to collect telephony metadata in bulk, and that the court renewed that authority on Jan. 3," DNI Public Affairs Director Shawn Turner said.