Rand Paul Celebrates Ruling Against NSA's Bulk Data Collection

He was accused of responding too sluggishly and carefully to the Baltimore unrest and last month's drone revelations. No one can accuse Kentucky Senator Rand Paul of avoiding the New York appeals court decision that found the NSA's bulk data collection program to be a violation of the Patriot Act. Within minutes, Paul's social media accounts were turned over to the NSA story.

"I commend the federal courts for upholding our Constitution and protecting our Fourth Amendment rights. While this is a step in the right direction, it is now up to the Supreme Court to strike down the NSA's illegal spying program. It is the duty of elected officials to protect the rights of all Americans, and Congress should immediately repeal the Patriot Act provisions and pass my Fourth Amendment Preservation and Protection Act. I will continue to fight to prevent the Washington Machine from illegally seizing any American's personal communication."

The reference to an ongoing legislative battle hints at how civil liberty reformers have struggled outside of the courts–and how the courts may bail them out. Until today, the vehicles for NSA reform, such as the USA Freedom Act, have united the civil libertarians in both parties as an alternative to flat-out renewal of all surveillance programs. They have watched as their legislation was watered down into something that ended "bulk collection" while, as Dan Froomkin explains, "tapping data lines that go in and out of the U.S., grabbing personal information without a warrant from major content providers like Facebook and Yahoo."

This is precisely the Fourth Amendment problem that Paul has campaigned against. "The Fourth Amendment is not consistent with a warrant that says Mr. Verizon on it," he said last month in New Hampshire. "Last I checked, Mr. Verizon is not a person. The government, it's none of their damn business what you're doing on your phone."

Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who generally agrees with Paul on surveillance, did not respond to the ruling Thursday morning. Nor did Paul's frequent Senate/primary state rivals, Florida Senator Marco Rubio and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham.

To contact the author on this story: David Weigel at dweigel1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor on this story: Kerry Luft at kluft2@bloomberg.net