Larry Klayman
NSA class action reaches critical mass
By Larry Klayman
"I don't think there's any doubt now that the NSA or other agencies monitor or record almost every telephone call made in the United States, including cellphones, and I presume email as well. ... We've gone a long way down the road of violating American's basic civil rights, as far as privacy is concerned."
– President Jimmy Carter
Indeed, we have gone a long way down the road of violating American's basic civil rights, as most recently revealed by whistleblower Edward Snowden who exposed the National Security Agency's massive spy program, which Judge Richard J. Leon ruled Dec. 16, 2013, a violation of the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and "almost-Orwellian." This egregious violation of the privacy rights of American citizens has prompted Freedom Watch to file for class action certification in its epic lawsuit against the NSA, the first of its kind, in order to open it up to all the Americans whose constitutional rights have been defiled. The new class action suit expands the allegations of constitutional violations to include the NSA's collection of Internet metadata, social media and its spying on overseas phone calls under its so-called PRISM program.
Since the first lawsuit against the NSA Freedom Watch filed on June 6, 2013, the government has withheld the truth and obstructed justice by flouting court process, and has lied. For example, it has refused to answer the complaint or provide any relevant information, hiding behind so-called national security interests. It neither "admits nor denies" the allegations set forth in the complaint, claiming that to do so would tend to jeopardize national security. While no one, particularly conservatives, wants to threaten the national security of our country, the feet of the Obama administration and his NSA henchmen must be held to the fire.
Just a few days ago, on March 25, instead of taking responsibility for the corrupt administration he directs and controls, President Barack Hussein Obama shamelessly and deceitfully said, "I'm confident that everybody in our intelligence agencies operates in the best of intentions and is not snooping into the privacy of ordinary Dutch, German, French or American citizens." This is yet another one of Obama's lies to the American people, but this one is perhaps the most severe in terms of its ramifications. For if Obama refuses to own up to his illegal spying on virtually all Americans by the NSA, and as also recently revealed the Central Intelligence Agency, then no matter what new legislation is enacted by Congress to try to smooth over the anger of the citizenry, no one can logically believe that either his NSA or CIA will obey any new law. This is why all affected Americans must now be included in our class action – the first one filed and the only one that seeks to remedy all of the illegal surveillance activity by the NSA and CIA with regard to telephonic metadata, Internet and social media metadata, and eavesdropping on overseas calls, regardless of whether the American caller has any connection to terrorism. Metadata allows the government to track one's every movement and intercept and access even the content of otherwise confidential telephone, social media and Internet communications.
Accordingly, the proposed classes in the class certification are 1) all persons whose constitutional rights have been violated by the Government Defendants with regard to telephonic metadata; 2) all persons whose constitutional rights have been violated by the Government Defendants with regard to Internet metadata; 3) all persons whose constitutional rights have been violated by the Government Defendants with regard to social media; and 4) all persons whose constitutional rights have been violated by the Government Defendants with regard to overseas phone calls and foreign communications known as PRISM and MUSCULAR. (See www.freedomwatchusa.org.)
Ironically, former President Carter who, politically speaking, is an ally of Obama, is a member of these classes. While one of the worst presidents in American history, let us give the peanut farmer credit and thank him for coming forward and excoriating the intelligence agencies now run under the executive authority of his comrade Obama. Carter recently said:
"For the last two or three years, when I want to write a highly personal letter to a foreign leader, or even some American leaders, I hand-write it and mail it, because I feel that my telephone calls and my email are being monitored, and there are some things I just don't want anybody to know except me and my wife."
"When I was in office I was deeply concerned by the intrusion of the security agencies, the intelligence agencies, on American privacy."
Around the same time Carter came forward, so did the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California no less. Given her chairmanship of the committee and her intimate access to the inner workings of the NSA and CIA, Feinstein has known all along, as have many senators and congressmen, that these agencies were illegally spying on and violating the constitutional rights of nearly the entire U.S. citizenry. Yet she chose to remain silent and took no action to stop these criminal acts. Only recently, when Feinstein learned that the CIA has been spying on her and her staff, she vehemently objected and lambasted the agency, proclaiming that "the CIA did not ask the committee or its staff if the committee had access to the internal review or how we obtained it. Instead, the CIA just went and searched the committee's computer. I have asked for an apology and a recognition that this CIA search of computers used by its oversight committee was inappropriate. I have received neither." So there you have it; when an establishment senator's ox is gored, there is a big problem, but when the privacy rights of over 300 million Americans are raped by the government, the political establishment covers it up – and it takes someone like Snowden, who is now holed up by necessity (otherwise he would likely be killed) in Putin's neo-Nazi communist Russia, to reveal the truth.
This is why our class action lawsuit is so important and why it is now about to reach critical mass. This case, short of revolution – which increasingly appears inevitable in any event – is the sole legal vehicle in place today to seek redress of our legal grievances. Thank God that we have found that one courageous judge who chose to stick his neck out. Now let us pray that he will remain in "good health" and will retain his courage to do what needs to be done to help restore freedom to our shores.
© Larry Klayman
"I don't think there's any doubt now that the NSA or other agencies monitor or record almost every telephone call made in the United States, including cellphones, and I presume email as well. ... We've gone a long way down the road of violating American's basic civil rights, as far as privacy is concerned."
– President Jimmy Carter
Indeed, we have gone a long way down the road of violating American's basic civil rights, as most recently revealed by whistleblower Edward Snowden who exposed the National Security Agency's massive spy program, which Judge Richard J. Leon ruled Dec. 16, 2013, a violation of the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and "almost-Orwellian." This egregious violation of the privacy rights of American citizens has prompted Freedom Watch to file for class action certification in its epic lawsuit against the NSA, the first of its kind, in order to open it up to all the Americans whose constitutional rights have been defiled. The new class action suit expands the allegations of constitutional violations to include the NSA's collection of Internet metadata, social media and its spying on overseas phone calls under its so-called PRISM program.
Since the first lawsuit against the NSA Freedom Watch filed on June 6, 2013, the government has withheld the truth and obstructed justice by flouting court process, and has lied. For example, it has refused to answer the complaint or provide any relevant information, hiding behind so-called national security interests. It neither "admits nor denies" the allegations set forth in the complaint, claiming that to do so would tend to jeopardize national security. While no one, particularly conservatives, wants to threaten the national security of our country, the feet of the Obama administration and his NSA henchmen must be held to the fire.
Just a few days ago, on March 25, instead of taking responsibility for the corrupt administration he directs and controls, President Barack Hussein Obama shamelessly and deceitfully said, "I'm confident that everybody in our intelligence agencies operates in the best of intentions and is not snooping into the privacy of ordinary Dutch, German, French or American citizens." This is yet another one of Obama's lies to the American people, but this one is perhaps the most severe in terms of its ramifications. For if Obama refuses to own up to his illegal spying on virtually all Americans by the NSA, and as also recently revealed the Central Intelligence Agency, then no matter what new legislation is enacted by Congress to try to smooth over the anger of the citizenry, no one can logically believe that either his NSA or CIA will obey any new law. This is why all affected Americans must now be included in our class action – the first one filed and the only one that seeks to remedy all of the illegal surveillance activity by the NSA and CIA with regard to telephonic metadata, Internet and social media metadata, and eavesdropping on overseas calls, regardless of whether the American caller has any connection to terrorism. Metadata allows the government to track one's every movement and intercept and access even the content of otherwise confidential telephone, social media and Internet communications.
Accordingly, the proposed classes in the class certification are 1) all persons whose constitutional rights have been violated by the Government Defendants with regard to telephonic metadata; 2) all persons whose constitutional rights have been violated by the Government Defendants with regard to Internet metadata; 3) all persons whose constitutional rights have been violated by the Government Defendants with regard to social media; and 4) all persons whose constitutional rights have been violated by the Government Defendants with regard to overseas phone calls and foreign communications known as PRISM and MUSCULAR. (See www.freedomwatchusa.org.)
Ironically, former President Carter who, politically speaking, is an ally of Obama, is a member of these classes. While one of the worst presidents in American history, let us give the peanut farmer credit and thank him for coming forward and excoriating the intelligence agencies now run under the executive authority of his comrade Obama. Carter recently said:
"For the last two or three years, when I want to write a highly personal letter to a foreign leader, or even some American leaders, I hand-write it and mail it, because I feel that my telephone calls and my email are being monitored, and there are some things I just don't want anybody to know except me and my wife."
"When I was in office I was deeply concerned by the intrusion of the security agencies, the intelligence agencies, on American privacy."
Around the same time Carter came forward, so did the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California no less. Given her chairmanship of the committee and her intimate access to the inner workings of the NSA and CIA, Feinstein has known all along, as have many senators and congressmen, that these agencies were illegally spying on and violating the constitutional rights of nearly the entire U.S. citizenry. Yet she chose to remain silent and took no action to stop these criminal acts. Only recently, when Feinstein learned that the CIA has been spying on her and her staff, she vehemently objected and lambasted the agency, proclaiming that "the CIA did not ask the committee or its staff if the committee had access to the internal review or how we obtained it. Instead, the CIA just went and searched the committee's computer. I have asked for an apology and a recognition that this CIA search of computers used by its oversight committee was inappropriate. I have received neither." So there you have it; when an establishment senator's ox is gored, there is a big problem, but when the privacy rights of over 300 million Americans are raped by the government, the political establishment covers it up – and it takes someone like Snowden, who is now holed up by necessity (otherwise he would likely be killed) in Putin's neo-Nazi communist Russia, to reveal the truth.
This is why our class action lawsuit is so important and why it is now about to reach critical mass. This case, short of revolution – which increasingly appears inevitable in any event – is the sole legal vehicle in place today to seek redress of our legal grievances. Thank God that we have found that one courageous judge who chose to stick his neck out. Now let us pray that he will remain in "good health" and will retain his courage to do what needs to be done to help restore freedom to our shores.
© Larry Klayman
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