Appeals court rules NSA phone program illegal

A federal appeals court on Thursday ruled that the National Security Agency's warrantless collection of millions of Americans' phone records is not authorized under the Patriot Act and is therefore illegal.

The program "exceeds the scope of what Congress has authorized," the Second Circuit Court of Appeals wrote. The White House and defenders of the controversial program claimed Section 215 of the Patriot Act allowed for warrantless phone monitoring. But the court determined the section "cannot bear the weight the government asks us to assign to it, and that it does not authorize the telephone metadata program."

However, the court did not find the program to be inherently unconstitutional, saying that Congress could approve legislation to more clearly authorize it. And the court did not order the feds to halt the program just yet, noting that Section 215 will expire next month unless Congress acts.

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