A suspect facing terrorism charges has become the first criminal defendant to challenge the constitutionality of the National Security Agency’s bulk surveillance program, The Washington Post reports. A motion was filed in a federal court to suppress any evidence against the defendant gathered from the warrantless government surveillance under the FISA Amendments Act. The defendant “believes that the government’s surveillance of him was unlawful for the simple fact that it was carried out … under a statute that fails to comply with the Fourth Amendment’s most basic requirements,” according to the motion. In a separate case, for the first time in FISA’s 36-year history, a federal judge has allowed a defense lawyer to review classified evidence gathered under the law. (Registration may be required to access this story.)
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