White House Drops Objections to Publishing FISA Court Metadata Authorization

ACLU had filed suit to try to force it out

Late Friday, the Associated Press reported that the White House has now dropped its objections to the release of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court's (FISA Court, or FISC) opinion authorizing the bulk collection of phone metadata from American telecommunications companies.

Citing an as-yet unpublished filing with the court, the AP said that the Justice Department now has no objection to the court releasing redacted versions of its opinion, omitting classified data.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed suit in November asking the FISC to publish its opinions regarding the collection program and Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act, under which the government claims authority to collect the data. Earlier this month, the Justice Department had filed a motion to deny the ACLU's request.