(Washington, D.C., April 15, 2014). Today, Larry Klayman, the lead plaintiff in three groundbreaking lawsuits (Civil Action Nos. 13-cv-851, 13-cv-851, 14-cv-00092), which challenge the constitutionality of the NSA’s and CIA’s surveillance of American citizens who have no connection to terrorism, announced that litigation pressure before the lower federal district court has been applied on these Government Defendants now that the Supreme Court declined to conduct an early review of the historic ruling of Judge Richard Leon that they are in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
Plaintiffs had sought to leapfrog middle level appellate review, after Judge Leon stayed his ruling preliminary enjoining the Government Defendants from continuing to collect and access telephonic metadata of over 300 million Americans.
In effect, the Supreme Court passed the ball back to Judge Leon to administer to these cases, which this lower court has observed concerns a matter of “pinnacle national importance.”
To turn the heat up, Plaintiffs have filed a series of motions which can be found at www.freedomwatchusa.org, seeking to have the stay lifted, immediately barring the NSA from continuing to collect telephonic metadata, to have judgment entered against the Government Defendants on liability and to enter a permanent injunction but proceed to discovery and trial on damages. Plaintiffs also seek to have the Government Defendants held in contempt and sanctioned for lying to the Court about the on-going surveillance of our private communications, as well as to certify a class so all affected Americans can join this legal battle.
Larry Klayman, a former Justice Department prosecutor, issued this statement:
“On behalf of the American people, the plaintiffs in our cases against the NSA and CIA, President Obama, Attorney General Holder, and the heads of these agencies, we have sought to adjudicate these important constitutional issues as soon as possible. Even one day more of these Orwellian violations of our constitutional rights is too much, as this illegal surveillance is a means for the Government to coerce and enslave the populace into submission to the rule of establishment politicians of both political parties. For any one who challenges the authority of this ruling class is subject to being destroyed with the Government’s use of the most private of information. Thus, the stakes are high and we intend to win this battle for all Americans.”
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