On the recordJune 2, 2015
The core of this legislation is its prohibition on the bulk collection of records under section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act, the FISA pen register and trap-and-trace device statute, and the national security letter statutes. Though there are some minor wording changes, these provisions are substantively identical to the version in the USA FREEDOM Act of 2014. For section 215 and the FISA pen register and trap and trace device statutes, under the bill the government must use a ``specific selection term'' to limit its collection and demonstrate reasonable grounds to believe that the records sought are relevant to the underlying investigation, which cannot be a threat assessment. These requirements are independent of each other, and both must be satisfied. The USA FREEDOM Act of 2015 is being considered with full knowledge of the Second Circuit's decision in ACLU v. Clapper and its interpretation of the term ``relevant,'' which rejects the prior reading of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. According to the Second Circuit, information that the government seeks to obtain must be presently relevant to the specific underlying investigation. The Second Circuit correctly noted: ``Relevance'' does not exist in the abstract; something is ``relevant'' or not in relation to a particular subject. Thus, an item relevant to a grand jury investigation may not be relevant at trial. In keeping with this usage, Sec.…
