Sanders, Leahy praise ruling against NSA

WASHINGTON – Vermont's congressional lawmakers welcomed a federal appeals court ruling Thursday that says the National Security Agency lacks legal authority to sweep up logs of Americans' phone calls.

The ruling represents the most significant setback yet for the long-running NSA surveillance operation.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said he would oppose any extension of the program, which gathers information about phone calls made and received but doesn't eavesdrop on their content. He blamed Republicans for defending the program.

"These Republicans are ignoring the findings of national security experts that this program is unnecessary, and the decision by a federal appellate court earlier today that the program is illegal," Leahy said in a statement. "Nevertheless, these Republicans seem intent on demonstrating that they are wholly out of touch with the facts, the law, and the American people on this issue."

The government says the program is authorized under a key Patriot Act provision, section 215, set to expire in June. But the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said Thursday the program "exceeds the scope of what Congress has authorized."

Leahy said Congress should pass the USA Freedom Act he proposed with Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, after the House votes on a similar bill next week. The USA Freedom Act, which passed the House Senate Judiciary Committee last week, is designed to end bulk collection of phone records and enact other surveillance reforms.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has introduced a competing bill that would simply renew the Patriot Act through 2020. On Thursday, he urged his colleagues to support his proposed renewal and targeted Leahy's bill.

"The USA Freedom Act would replace Section 215 with an untested, untried and more cumbersome system," McConnell said. "It would not end bulk collection of call data. Instead, it would have untrained corporate (phone company) employees with uncertain supervision and protocols do the collecting."

Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said changes being discussed in Congress "look anemic in light of the serious issues raised by the 2nd Circuit. Congress needs to up its reform game if it wishes to address the court's concerns."

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., proposed legislation in 2013 that would have limited searchable records. It would have required authorities to establish reasonable suspicion before obtaining court approval to monitor business records related to a specific terrorism suspect.

"Clearly we must do everything we can to protect our country from the serious potential of another terrorist attack, but we can and must do so in a way that also protects the constitutional rights of the American people and maintains our free society," Sanders said in a statement. "We can do that without living in an Orwellian world where the government and private corporations know every telephone call that we make, every website we visit, everyplace we go."

Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said the appeals court ruling "confirmed the obvious."

"The NSA pushed beyond the limits of the law and spied on ordinary Americans," Welch said in a statement. "This ruling could not have come at a better time as Congress begins to review the Patriot Act. The days of this illegal program are numbered. Congress needs to repeal it now."

Contributing: Erin Kelly, Brad Heath and Richard Wolf, USA TODAY. Contact Nicole Gaudiano at ngaudiano@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ngaudiano.