DC Court Rejects Request To Delay NSA Surveillance Hearing

Judge Richard Leon of U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia rejected requests from the Justice Department to delay a hearing in Klayman v. Obama on the “unconstitutional collection” of telephonic metadata by the NSA, a Freedom Watch news release said Tuesday. After Friday's U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decision sending the case back to Leon, citing lack of evidence the plaintiffs’ Fourth Amendment rights were violated (see 1508310042), he scheduled a hearing for Wednesday at noon. “It is thus clear that the court intends to move this case along to get to the bottom of the unconstitutional surveillance, and to move it to trial as soon as possible,” Freedom Watch said. Founder and plaintiff Larry Klayman said he was pleased Leon is “moving quickly to address the continued Orwellian illegal surveillance of all Americans.” Klayman said Leon previously referred to the case as the “pinnacle of national importance” and said he hopes the judge will “implement a procedure to allow us to quickly seek and obtain justice.”