Senator Rand Paul says his lawsuit would allow ordinary people to object having a single generalized warrant cover large numbers of cell phones.
Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said his lawsuit against the National Security Agency would prove that its surveillance programs are too broad and unconstitutional.
Sen. Paul plans to file a class-action lawsuit against the Obama administration over the NSAâ„¢s collection of information through domestic surveillance programs. So far, more than 250,000 people have signed on to the lawsuit.
Å“I think the idea of a class-action lawsuit with hundreds of thousands of participants really beats home and brings to the forefront the idea that this is a generalized warrant and it should be considered unconstitutional,” Paul said on ABCâ„¢s Å“This Week” on Sunday.
He went on to say that the suit would allow ordinary people to protest having a single generalized warrant which can cover large numbers of cell phones.
The outspoken senator asserted that the government should be forced to specifically seek the records of people. Å“Thatâ„¢s what we fought the Revolutionary War over.”
Paul announced his plan on Friday, saying he hoped to take the suit against President Barack Obama and the NSA “all the way to the Supreme Court” on the matter of “whether or not constitutionally you can have a single warrant apply to millions of people.”
Paul has not yet filed the lawsuit but intends to move forward with the plan this month.
The senator also suggested a lighter sentence for Edward Snowden, the whistleblower behind the leaks of government surveillance activities.
Snowden, a former NSA contractor, has been granted a temporary asylum in Russia. He is wanted in the US on espionage charges.
AT/HJ
Source: Press TV