European Knight
06-02-2015, 08:35 AM
Rand Paul Blocks Renewal of PATRIOT Act?s Expiring Powers; Battle Continues (http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/congress/item/20978-rand-paul-blocks-renewal-of-patriot-act-s-expiring-powers-battle-continues)
The Senate battle for and against renewing expired parts of the PATRIOT Act — which the National Security Agency (NSA) has used to justify the collection of phone records — continued on June 1, after Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.; shown) blocked extension of those powers during a special session of the upper house the previous day.
Paul was supported in his efforts to stop renewal of the NSA’s snooping authority by two Democrats, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico.
“Tonight, we stopped the illegal NSA bulk-data collection,” Paul said in a statement after the Senate recessed without renewing the provisions that were set to expire at midnight. “This is a victory no matter how you look at it. It might be
short lived, but I hope that it provides a road for a robust debate, which will strengthen our intelligence community, while also respecting our Constitution.”
The New York Times reported on June 1 that the expiration of three sections of the PATRIOT Act means that, at least for now, the NSA may no longer legally collect newly created logs of Americans’ phone calls in bulk.
Additionally, noted the Times, the FBI cannot cite the PATRIOT Act as authorization to obtain wiretap orders for new investigations that monitor a suspect who changes phones, wiretap orders for a “lone wolf” terrorism suspect not linked
to a group, or court orders to obtain business records relevant to an investigation.
The Senate battle for and against renewing expired parts of the PATRIOT Act — which the National Security Agency (NSA) has used to justify the collection of phone records — continued on June 1, after Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.; shown) blocked extension of those powers during a special session of the upper house the previous day.
Paul was supported in his efforts to stop renewal of the NSA’s snooping authority by two Democrats, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico.
“Tonight, we stopped the illegal NSA bulk-data collection,” Paul said in a statement after the Senate recessed without renewing the provisions that were set to expire at midnight. “This is a victory no matter how you look at it. It might be
short lived, but I hope that it provides a road for a robust debate, which will strengthen our intelligence community, while also respecting our Constitution.”
The New York Times reported on June 1 that the expiration of three sections of the PATRIOT Act means that, at least for now, the NSA may no longer legally collect newly created logs of Americans’ phone calls in bulk.
Additionally, noted the Times, the FBI cannot cite the PATRIOT Act as authorization to obtain wiretap orders for new investigations that monitor a suspect who changes phones, wiretap orders for a “lone wolf” terrorism suspect not linked
to a group, or court orders to obtain business records relevant to an investigation.