NY judge rules NSA phone surveillance legal, rejecting rights group’s effort to halt program

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FILE - This June 6, 2013 file photo shows a sign outside the National Security Agency (NSA) campus in Fort Meade, Md. A civil rights lawyer says the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is very disappointed that a New York judge has found that a government program that collects millions of Americans\' telephone records is legal. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

NEW YORK, N.Y. – A federal judge in New York City has ruled that a massive U.S. phone-tracking program is legal.

U.S. District Judge William Pauley issued the decision Friday. He says the program “represents the government’s counter-punch” to eliminate al-Qaida’s terror network by connecting fragmented and fleeting communications.

The ruling notes the terrorist attacks in 2001 and how the National Security Agency’s phone data-collection system could have helped investigators connect information before the attacks occurred.

The judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU did not immediately respond to a message for comment.

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