{"id":1948803,"date":"2023-06-16T01:18:02","date_gmt":"2023-06-16T05:18:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-depth-lawmakers-split-on-surveillance-authority-reauthorization-amid-doj-fbi-abuses\/"},"modified":"2023-06-16T01:22:51","modified_gmt":"2023-06-16T05:22:51","slug":"in-depth-lawmakers-split-on-surveillance-authority-reauthorization-amid-doj-fbi-abuses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-depth-lawmakers-split-on-surveillance-authority-reauthorization-amid-doj-fbi-abuses\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawmakers divided over reauthorizing surveillance authority due to DOJ, FBI abuses."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fin-depth-lawmakers-split-on-surveillance-authority-reauthorization-amid-doj-fbi-abuses%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1948803&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"post_content\">\n<h2>Lawmakers Divided on Reauthorizing Surveillance Authority<\/h2>\n<p>Lawmakers are split on reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a broad post-9\/11 surveillance authority, in the light of a string of alleged abuses of the apparatus against American citizens.<\/p>\n<p>Limited authority to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-fbi-spied-on-3-3-million-americans-without-a-warrant\/\" title=\"Report: FBI Spied on 3.3 Million Americans Without a Warrant\">gather foreign intelligence information<\/a> is granted by Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a post-9\/11 surveillance tool that gives U.S. intelligence the power to target \u201c(i) non-U.S. persons (ii) who are reasonably believed to be outside of the United States (iii) to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-report-shows-fbi-spied-on-3-3-million-americans-without-a-warrant\/\" title=\"New Report Shows FBI Spied on 3.3 Million Americans Without a Warrant\">acquire foreign intelligence information<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, this power can grant an expanding circle of possible searches to the FBI and other intel agencies, who can use the same power against American citizens who had any interaction with targeted foreigners.<\/p>\n<p>The provision, one of many surveillance authorities instituted after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, is set to expire on Dec. 31 if Congress doesn\u2019t reauthorize it. But many in Congress have concerns about the program after a litany of legal violations involving the apparatus have come to light.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Report after report has revealed abuses of the program, most prominently by the FBI. The most significant violations came in 2021 when it was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/report-shows-fbi-spied-on-3-3-million-americans-without-a-warrant-gop-demands-answers_4487840.html?\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">revealed<\/a> that the agency had used the foreign intelligence tool 3.3 million times against American citizens without a warrant or court approval. Some of those 3.3 million American queries were exercised against an unnamed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/gop-congressman-says-he-believes-fbi-illegally-spied-on-him-under-fisa-authority_5111129.html\">member of Congress.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>After that report, the FBI vowed to make changes\u2014a vow the agency has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/fbi-again-promises-to-stop-unjustly-searching-nsa-data-on-americans_5281238.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reiterated<\/a> after an April 2023 report revealed that the agency had made 278,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nearly-20000-illegal-queries-of-campaign-donors-by-intel-agencies-draws-bipartisan-anger\/\" title=\"20K illegal donor queries by intel agencies anger both parties.\">000 additional illegal queries<\/a> of American citizens after making previous reforms that the agency said would address the problem (<a href=\"https:\/\/s3.documentcloud.org\/documents\/23817109\/adb47f54-b772-4099-b0c9-adf24ef64faa.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>The April report also revealed that the FISA power had been used nearly 20,000 times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/nearly-20000-illegal-queries-of-campaign-donors-by-intel-agencies-draws-bipartisan-anger_5330106.html\">against political donors<\/a> to an unnamed congressional campaign\u2014only eight of those were found to have had any genuine foreign intelligence basis.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Several lawmakers discussed the issue with The Epoch Times and gave split perspectives on renewing the program. Most suggested that the program was an important and useful tool in combatting international terrorism but indicated that abuses were concerning and needed to be addressed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to preserve the ability to collect intelligence against foreign spies, but we also need to protect the privacy of American citizens and make sure they\u2019re accorded the rights that are guaranteed under the Constitution,\u201d Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said.<\/p>\n<p>He added, \u201c[With] regard to the incidental collection and use of lawfully collected FISA information for criminal investigations involving U.S. persons, to that, there\u2019s room to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wapo-wonders-why-did-the-capitol-police-completely-screw-up-pelosis-security\/\" title=\"WaPo Wonders: Why Did the Capitol Police Completely Screw Up Pelosi\u2019s Security?\">provide additional layers<\/a> of protection as guaranteed by the Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4553204\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2022\/06\/23\/sen-cornyn-motions-1200x800.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) speaks to reporters ahead of a weekly Republican luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 22, 2022. (Brandon Bell\/Getty Images)<\/figure>\n<p>In order to surveil American citizens under FISA, intelligence agencies must make a case to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the primary watchdog of FISA.<\/p>\n<p>However, its proceedings are conducted entirely in secret, unlike most U.S. courts. This means that what exactly happens in a FISA court hearing is not public information, aside from a few <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/in-depth-lawmakers-split-on-surveillance-authority-reauthorization-amid-doj-fbi-abuses\/\" title=\"Lawmakers divided over reauthorizing surveillance authority due to DOJ, FBI abuses.\">highly-redacted releases issued<\/a> from the court.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) also proposed reforms to the collection of data against Americans.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere need to be some changes in the law, there need to be some reforms for it to pass, no question,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor example, strengthening the adversary process, so that different points of view are represented in the application for warrants.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5064794\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/02\/17\/GettyImages-1246502573-1200x800.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) speaks during a press conference to discuss a recent trip to Ukraine, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Jan. 24, 2023. (Mandel Ngan\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figure>\n<p>During a June 13 hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on the issue, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who has expressed criticism of Section 702 in the past, referenced the April report, saying that the findings again raise questions about intelligence agencies\u2019 ability to use the tool within the confines laid out in the statute.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSince the last reauthorization of Section 702, many violations of the constitutional, statutory, and court-imposed restrictions on 702 have come to light,\u201d Durbin said, referencing the narrow reauthorization of the program in 2017 under then-President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese searches have affected all manner of Americans, such as individuals listed in police homicide reports, including victims, next of kin, and witnesses,\u201d Durbin said.<\/p>\n<p>He also noted that the surveillance authority had been used on purely domestic matters, including against both Black Lives Matter and Jan. 6 protestors.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) likewise said he has \u201cmajor concerns\u201d about reauthorizing Section 702.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know why we would just give them this authority again, without any kind of reform,\u201d Hawley said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust take the 278,000 illegal illicit queries of Americans\u2019 personal data, and their excuse for that is it was unintentional. Oh, please, if it\u2019s unintentional, I have a bridge I want to sell you. I mean, to me that\u2019s just absurd.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5293761\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/05\/26\/id5293761-GettyImages-1235413293-1200x800.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) asks questions to witnesses as they testify before the Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, in Washington on Sept. 21, 2021. (Ken Cedeno\/Pool\/Getty Images)<\/figure>\n<p>Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) said he supports reauthorization of Section 702, and said that while it\u2019s important to \u201croot out abuse,\u201d Section 702 or a similar program is needed for national security purposes.<\/p>\n<p>Asked about his take on renewing Section 702, Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), a prominent member of the powerful House Freedom Caucus, replied quickly that he was \u201cabsolutely against it,\u201d tying his opposition to the string of reported abuses.<\/p>\n<p>Pressed on whether any reforms would be acceptable to him, Good replied, \u201cThe constitutional rights of the American people should be paramount.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Bureaucratic Takeover<\/h2>\n<p>Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Wis.) opined that the post-9\/11 tool was put in place \u201cfor the right reasons,\u201d but said that like other government programs left to bureaucratic interpretation, bureaucrats have taken over the program for ends different than what Congress originally intended.<\/p>\n<p>He said the time has come for Congress to take \u201ca close look to see what has changed since we authorized it because \u2026 most of the things we should do in Congress should have a sunset.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo we can reevaluate them, not let them go on forever and ever. Because bureaucracies then will grab a hold of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) echoed this sentiment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think we need to rethink the whole FISA court situation,\u201d Burchett said. \u201cIt\u2019s a typical overreach by unelected bureaucrats.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI just don\u2019t like the government spying on Americans,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said that Section 702 is \u201can important authority,\u201d but like others, he expressed concerns about the string of alleged abuses.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5337345\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/06\/16\/id5337345-GettyImages-1487339607-1200x800.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) speaks on Title 42 immigration policy in Washington on May 3, 2023. (Kevin Dietsch\/Getty Images)<\/figure>\n<p>Cruz expressed concerns about \u201cthis administration abusing those authorities to target American citizens. As we\u2019ve seen, this administration thoroughly politicized the Department of Justice and the FBI and the intelligence agencies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This, Cruz said, \u201c[gives] Americans far less confidence that it will be applied in a neutral manner.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Prohibit Use Against Americans: Paul<\/h2>\n<p>Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told The Epoch Times that the solution was to reform the FISA system to not apply at all to American citizens.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur proposal is an amendment to limit FISA to only foreign intelligence,\u201d Paul said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lawmakers are divided over renewing Section 702 of FISA, a post-9\/11 surveillance law, due to alleged abuses against US citizens. This section grants limited authority to collect foreign intelligence information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2118,"featured_media":1948804,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[5582,11987,12417,7076,5591,3673,28124,14429],"class_list":["post-1948803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times","tag-abuses","tag-authority","tag-divided","tag-doj","tag-fbi","tag-lawmakers","tag-reauthorizing","tag-surveillance"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1948803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2118"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1948803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1948803\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1948804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1948803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1948803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1948803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}