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U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, R-Cascade Township, joined 15 fellow lawmakers in filing an amicus brief urging a secretive intelligence court to disclose its legal interpretation of Section 215 of the Patriot Act.

(Emily Zoladz | Mlive.com)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI — U.S. Rep. Justin Amash is backing an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit filed in response to controversial surveillance by federal authorities brought to light in recent media reports.

Amash, R-Cascade Township, is one of 16 federal lawmakers who last week filed an amicus brief (PDF) with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, or FISC. The complaint urges the secretive body to disclose to all of Congress its legal interpretations of a contentious part of the Patriot Act.

The brief echoes an ACLU lawsuit filed in June that urges FISC release its interpretation of Section 215 of the act, which empowers federal investigators to obtain various records and documents that might be related to terrorism or espionage.

"Secret law is anathema to a free country. Congress cannot effectively legislate until it knows what the law is," Amash said in a statement on the amicus brief.

"The American public cannot engage in a meaningful debate about liberty and surveillance until it knows what its government is doing,” he added. “We call on the FISA court to release its significant Patriot Act rulings.”

Amash has been a vocal critic of the surveillance after former private-sector intelligence worker Edward Snowden leaked classified documents about clandestine U.S. surveillance tactics to the European press.

Specifically, Snowden revealed federal investigators had obtained reams of Americans' phone records and other data in a secret quest to stamp out terrorist activities.

Most recently, it was purported in German newsmagazine Der Spiegel that the U.S. spied on European Union officials, stoking that group's ire.

Snowden is on the lam in Russia, having so far failed to secure amnesty in a range of countries. At home, though, the scandal he brought to light has provoked outrage among civil liberties advocates like Amash.

Others, like Amash's fellow Michigan Rep. Mike Rogers of Brighton, have defended the surveillance. Rogers, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, said information obtained by officials already has thwarted attacks.

Rogers is among lawmakers who acquire copies of significant FISC opinions. By law, those on the House and Senate intelligence and judiciary committees are privy to the rulings.

Amash's office noted in a news release that "rank-and-file" members of Congress are unable to obtain the opinions, making the ACLU's motion necessary.

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