USCA Case #14-5004 Document #1570210 Filed: 08/28/2015 3 realistically distinguishable from allegations of little green men.”). This evidence also sets this case apart from Clapper. There, plaintiffs’ claim of standing relied “on a highly attenuated chain of possibilities.” 133 S. Ct. at 1148. One link of that chain was that plaintiffs’ “theory necessarily rests on their assertion that the Government will target other individuals—namely, their foreign contacts.” 1 Id. The Clapper plaintiffs, however, had “no actual knowledge of the Government’s § 1881a targeting practices” nor could they even show that the surveillance program they were challenging even existed. Id. at 1148–49 (“Moreover, because § 1881a at most authorizes—but does not mandate or direct—the surveillance that respondents fear, respondents’ allegations are necessarily conjectural.”); cf. United Presbyterian Church in the USA v. Reagan, 738 F.2d 1375, 1380–81 (D.C. Cir. 1984) (dismissing a complaint as a “generalized grievance” against the “entire national intelligence-gathering system” where plaintiffs were unable to show the injury they suffered was the result of a specific government surveillance program.) By contrast, here, plaintiffs have set forth specific evidence showing that the government operates a bulk-telephony metadata program that collects subscriber information from domestic telecommunications providers, including Verizon Business Network Services. Contrary to the assertions of my colleagues, these facts bolster plaintiffs’ position: where the Clapper plaintiffs relied on speculation and conjecture to press their claim, here, plaintiffs offer an inference derived 1 The statute authorizing the surveillance program at issue in Clapper, 50 U.S.C. § 1881a, explicitly provided that, as U.S. persons, plaintiffs could not be targeted for surveillance. 133 S. Ct. at 1148. Page 8 of 21