What did the declassified documents reveal?

COLD OPEN: This is a Memorandum Opinion issued by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on December 16, 2013. The document relates to the lawsuits Klayman et al. v. Obama et al. and Klayman et al. v. Obama et al., which challenged the constitutionality and statutory authorization of certain intelligence-gathering practices by the United States government. The cases were filed in response to public revelations about the National Security Agency's surveillance programs. The document is available on The Black Vault's website, with a canonical PDF located at documents.theblackvault.com/documents/nsa/nsaruling-12-16-2013.pdf. PROVENANCE: The document was released on April 17, 2016, as part of a batch of declassified records related to U.S. government surveillance programs. The release was likely in response to Congressional inquiries and public pressure following the Edward Snowden leaks. The document was declassified by the National Security Agency, with the release authority unknown. THE DOCUMENT: UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA KLAYMAN et al., v. OBAMA et al., KLAYMAN et al., v. OBAMA et al., Plaintiffs, Defendants. Civil Action No. 13-0851 (RJL) FILED DEC 1 6 2013 Clerk, U.S. District & Bankruptcy Courts for the District of Columbia MORANDUM OPINION December 16, 2013 [Dkt. # 13 (No. 13-0851), # 10 (No. 13-0881)] On June 6, 2013, plaintiffs brought the first of two related lawsuits challenging the constitutionality and statutory authorization of certain intelligence-gathering practices by the United States government relating to the wholesale collection of the phone record metadata of all U.S. citizens. These related cases are two of several lawsuits arising from public revelations over the past six months that the federal government, through the National Security Agency, and with the participation of certain telecommunications and internet companies, has conducted surveillance and intelligence-gathering programs that collect certain data about the telephone and internet activity of American citizens within the United States. Plaintiffs-five individuals in total between No. 13-851 ("Klayman I") and No. 13-881 ("Klayman II")-bring these suits as U.S. citizens who are subscribers or users of certain telecommunications and internet firms. They bring suit against both federal government defendants (several federal agencies and individual executive officials) and private defendants (telecommunications and internet firms and their executive officers), alleging statutory and constitutional violations. Before the Court are plaintiffs' two Motions for Preliminary Injunction [Dkt. # 13 (Klayman I), # 10 (Klayman II)], one in each case. As relief, plaintiffs seek an injunction that, during the pendency of this suit, (i) bars defendants from collecting plaintiffs' call records under the mass call surveillance program; (ii) requires defendants to destroy all of plaintiffs' call records already collected under…

Why was this case declassified?

This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process.

U.s. Government Phone Surveillance Programs

◆ BLUF — The short version

COLD OPEN: This is a Memorandum Opinion issued by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on December 16, 2013. The document relates to the lawsuits Klayman et al. v. Obama et al. and Klayman et al.

Date: JUL 6 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)

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What was U.s. Government Phone Surveillance Programs about?: COLD OPEN: This is a Memorandum Opinion issued by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia on December 16, 2013. The document relates to the lawsuits Klayman et al. v. Obama et al. and Klayman et al.
Why was this case declassified?: This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. Storyflo narrates it directly from the public release.

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