Patriot Act Expired: The NSA Is No Longer Collecting Your Phone Records For Now, When Could Data Be Retrieved Again? [PHOTO]
The NSA may temporarily be unable to track personal phone calls after the expiration of three major components of the heavily disliked Patriot Act.
According to The New York Times, three major components of the Act were forced into expiration after Senator and GOP Presidential hopeful Rand Paul invoked a rule allowing for 30 hours of debate in the Senate, despite objections from other senior Republicans. The provisions which expired do reportedly govern what data the NSA can collect and how they can go about that process.
"The expiration of three key provisions of the Patriot Act means that, for now, the N.S.A. will no longer collect newly created logs of Americans' phone calls in bulk," the article reads.. "It also means that the F.B.I. cannot invoke the Patriot Act to obtain for new investigations, wiretap orders that follow a suspect who changes phones, wiretap orders for a 'lone wolf' terrorism suspect not linked to a group, or court orders to obtain business records relevant to an investigation."
However, the expiration of the clauses and lack of current back-up plans could cause the Justice Department to try and enact a new grandfather-like clause which would allow for the tactics to still apply to investigations that began before June 1, though nothing has been confirmed.
The move has proven to cause some major backlash for Paul, who announced a bid for the Republican nomination for President in 2016 back in April, with members of his own party leading the way when it comes to torching him over the results, claiming he is jeopardizing the safety of the nation in favor of a potential increase in campaign donations.
"I know what this is about--I think it's very clear--this is, to some degree, a fundraising exercise," Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) told Politico. "He obviously has a higher priority for his fundraising and political ambitions than for the security of the nation."
"I don't stand with Rand on this," Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) added. "I want to make sure the ability to monitor terrorists continues uninterrupted."
