A Whimpering Ending for the NSA’s Illegal Dragnet Spying Program

The National Security Agency ’s controversial bulk phone datum assembling program is winding down with a weird whine following an especially bilious round of legislative squabbling .

The NSA began the multi - solar day mental process to shut down its dragnet headphone collection after Congress did n’t reauthorize provisions of the Patriot Act , which wasused as legal justificationfor the mass surveillance program . “ That process has begun , ” an governing body functionary tell the Los Angeles Timeson Saturday .

And one of the multitude directly responsible for for close down the plan is one of its biggest booster .

Members of Congress turn over the merit ofthe USA Freedom Act , which prohibited the NSA ’s specific data assembling program but regenerate the Patriot Act . One of that broadsheet ’s biggest opponents was Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ( R - Ky ) who sample to stymy the USA Freedom Act because he thoughtit did n’t go far enoughto maintain the Patriot Act .

McConnell hoped that Congress would be cornered into creating a temporary authorization of the Patriot Act provisions if the bill did n’t pass , but his big gamble did n’t pay up off . Even though he successfully helped pop the USA Freedom Act , all of the temporary Patriot Act authorization were also stymie by Congress . That intend McConnell helped bring about precisely what some of the NSA ’s most blatant critic had hope for : Expired , or “ sunsetted ” Patriot Act supply .

On May 31 , Congress will reconvene to strain and hammer out a last - ditch save . But the NSA is already starting to shut thing down , and by the time Congress return from its Memorial Day holiday next Sunday , it ’ll be too late to ask for the 90 - day extension needed to keep take in phone criminal record in bulk .

Pixwatch2

This is n’t an example of dismantling the surveillance land so much as an example of how Congressional infighting can distract Capitol Hill from catch stuff done .

To lend an supernumerary layer of chaos to these proceedings , a courtrecently rule that the Patriot Act was not a sound justificationfor the NSA ’s surveillance program , which provide this whole conflict mostly pointless .

It ’s absurd that the NSA is lastly winding down its much - loathed program base on something else getting shut down that really never gave it any sound standing to begin with , but unless a legislative miracle befall , starting at 5 pm on June 1 , the NSA will mislay its incredibly flimsylegal justification for the program .

Dji Drone