“The Second Circuit yesterday found that the FISA Business Records provision, known as Section 215, cannot be used for NSA’s collection of bulk phone metadata, which includes phone numbers, time and duration of calls but not content. The panel of three judges did not conclude that Section 215 was unconstitutional, nor did it order a halt to the program, but rather remanded further decisions to the district court.“Other district courts have found that Section 215 is legal and constitutional, as have at least 15 different federal judges serving on the FISA Court on 41 occasions.
“There is, however, strong support among the American people and the Obama administration to restructure the program in a way that requires the government to get FISA Court approval before seeking specific call records from telecommunications companies rather than having the NSA obtain these records in bulk. I am open to supporting such a reform.
“I have never before seen so many specific threats of terrorist attacks on our country, our people and our national interests from so many different terrorist groups. The attack last weekend in Garland, Texas, and the elevation of the security level at military facilities today show that we remain a nation under threat. Intelligence is the first line of defense, and we must continue to provide the tools the intelligence community needs to do its job.”
