As if this legal week couldn’t get any odder, U.S. News  (which apparently has expanded beyond rankings) reports that the junior senator from Kentucky is planning to sue the NSA with “hundreds of thousands” of plaintiffs.

After months of consideration, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is moving closer to filing a lawsuit in federal court against National Security Agency surveillance programs. A senior Paul staffer says U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon’s Monday decision that NSA opponents have standing to sue over the bulk collection of phone records makes Paul “much more likely” to file his own lawsuit. The senior staffer, who spoke with U.S. News on background, says hundreds of thousands of people volunteered online as possible plaintiffs after Paul first floated the idea of a class-action lawsuit in June. The senator has not firmly decided to file suit and it’s still possible Paul will choose to instead assist with three already-filed lawsuits against the NSA. If Paul does file a lawsuit it would be the fourth major legal attack against the NSA’s bulk collection and five-year storage of American phone records.

You know, in a way I feel bad for Hillary. She is going to have to inherit such a mess. Imagine, in a debate that Clinton is arguing for this policy, and Paul is arguing against it. What’s interesting is that in current polling numbers, liberals are flocking from Obama–only 54% of liberals “strongly approve” of POTUS. Orin Kerr seems to think that the party out of power becomes more libertarian. Maybe he’s right (he usually is). But this will make for an interesting debate in 2016 as traditional roles reverse. Update: Not to be outdone, Larry Klayman files seeks class certification.

Larry Klayman tonight asks Judge Leon for extension to file for class certification. DOJ does not consent. http://t.co/Zowy5PaRlf #NSA — Michael A. Scarcella (@MikeScarcella) December 18, 2013

From the brief:

In light of this Court’s order of December 16, 2013, and because the vast number of additional Americans who have likely had their constitutional rights violated, a class action lawsuit might be appropriate in order ensure that the issue is decided for all those involved and to avoid the wasting of judicial resources with duplicative lawsuits