{"id":1980875,"date":"2023-07-23T17:28:01","date_gmt":"2023-07-23T21:28:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-caught-again-improperly-using-spy-powers-this-time-on-us-senator-and-other-officials\/"},"modified":"2023-07-23T17:30:18","modified_gmt":"2023-07-23T21:30:18","slug":"fbi-caught-again-improperly-using-spy-powers-this-time-on-us-senator-and-other-officials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-caught-again-improperly-using-spy-powers-this-time-on-us-senator-and-other-officials\/","title":{"rendered":"FBI once more misuses spy powers, targets US Senator and officials."},"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%2Ffbi-caught-again-improperly-using-spy-powers-this-time-on-us-senator-and-other-officials%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=1980875&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--><h2>FBI\u2064 Caught Again Improperly Using Spy \u200bPowers \u2013 This Time on US Senator and\u2064 Other Officials<\/h2>\n<p>A Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court\u200d opinion released on Friday reveals \u200dthat \u200bthe FBI improperly \u200bconducted intelligence queries\u200b on a U.S. senator, a state senator, and a state judge.<\/p>\n<p>Section \u200d702\u200d of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act allows <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-instructs-fed-agencies-to-say-biden-harris-administration-report-says\/\" title=\"White House Instructs Fed Agencies To Say \u2018Biden-Harris\u2019 Administration, Report Says\">federal government agencies<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-warns-of-trust-deficit-facing-fbis-fisa-renewal-push\/\" title=\"GOP warns of 'trust' deficit facing FBI's FISA renewal push\">conduct targeted surveillance<\/a> of non-U.S. \u200ccitizens located abroad using intelligence databases.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cWhen U.S. citizens are flagged as part \u2064of\u200c these investigations, the\u2063 FBI takes\u2062 over \u200cthe process of querying them for possible security reasons,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/fisa-court-opinion-reveals-us-senator-state-senator-state-judge-got-swept-up-702-queries\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fox News<\/a> notes.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Presiding FISC Judge Rudolph Contreras wrote the April\u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.intel.gov\/assets\/documents\/702%20Documents\/declassified\/2023\/FISC_2023_FISA_702_Certifications_Opinion_April11_2023.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">opinion<\/a>, released Friday by the office of the \u200cDirector of\u2063 National Intelligence, that the\u200c FBI conducted queries into three individuals in 2022 that\u200d did not meet the standard established \u2064by law.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cSome \u200bviolations of the querying standard\u200c coincided with failure to \u2062follow\u200b an FBI policy\u200b that requires prior\u2062 Deputy \u200bDirector approval to use \u2018sensitive query terms\u2019 \u2014 e.g. identifiers of domestic public\u2064 officials, domestic political candidates, members of the news media,\u200b academics, and religious organizations\u200c or persons prominent within them,\u201d the \u2062opinion stated.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Contreras wrote that in June 2022, \u201can analyst\u200d conducted four queries of Section 702 information using the last names of a U.S. Senator\u2062 and \u200ca state \u200dsenator, without \u2063further limitation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe analyst had information that a\u200c specific\u2064 foreign intelligence service was targeting those legislators, but\u2062 [National Security Division of the Justice Department] determined that the querying standard was \u200cnot satisfied,\u201d \u2063Contreras \u200dwrote.<\/p>\n<p>Then in October 2022, the\u200b judge wrote that \u201ca staff\u2062 operations specialist ran a\u200d query using the social security number\u200b of\u2062 a state\u2063 judge\u200d who had complained to FBI about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-caught-again-improperly-using-spy-powers-this-time-on-us-senator-and-other-officials\/\" title=\"FBI once more misuses spy powers, targets US Senator and officials.\">alleged civil rights violations\u200d perpetrated<\/a> by a municipal chief of police.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The identities of the U.S. senator and \u2064state senator,\u200c as well as\u2064 the \u200bstate judge are \u2062not revealed \u200bin the judge\u2019s opinion.<\/p>\n<p>Contreras wrote that despite\u200b these \u200d\u201creported errors\u201d there \u201cis \u2062reason to\u2062 believe \u2064that the FBI \u2064has been\u2063 doing a better job in applying the querying standard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The judge also highlighted how reforms the FBI\u200b undertook \u200bin 2021 appear to be \u201chaving the desired effect.\u201d (page 83).<\/p>\n<p>The FBI\u2019s noncompliance \u200brate was 1.8 percent of the\u200d time.<\/p>\n<p>Still, \u200cit\u2019s the second time this year that the bureau has been found improperly using its \u2062surveillance powers. A court finding unsealed in May found that \u200dDuring the year that\u200c ended in November 2021, \u200cthe FBI conducted warrantless searches <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/report-exposes-fbi-violated-public-trust-278k-times-completely-unacceptable\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">278,000 times<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In the \u2063year ending November \u200c2022, the FBI conducted 204,000 queries, which\u2062 was a 94 percent drop from the previous year\u2019s reporting period when the agency did almost 3.4 million searches,\u200b according to Fox News.<\/p>\n<p>The subjects of the queries included those who participated in the protest surrounding the Capitol incursion on \u200cJan. \u20646, 2021, as well as those who \u2064took part in the\u200b protests and riots following the death of George Floyd in May 2020.<\/p>\n<p>Contreras <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/report-exposes-fbi-violated-public-trust-278k-times-completely-unacceptable\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wrote<\/a> in an April \u20642022 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/documents\/adb47f54-b772-4099-b0c9-adf24ef64faa.pdf?itid=lk_interstitial_manual_14\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">opinion<\/a> that \u201ccompliance problems \u200dwith the querying of \u200bSection 702 information\u2064 have proven to be persistent\u200b and widespread.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cIf \u2063they are not \u200csubstantially \u200dmitigated by these recent measures, it may\u2062 become\u2063 necessary \u2062to consider other responses, such \u200cas substantially \u2063limiting the number of FBI personnel with access\u2064 to unminimized Section 702 information,\u201d the\u200c judge added.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Following the release of \u200bFriday\u2019s report, FBI Director Christopher Wray touted the judge\u2019s view that the FBI had improved in complying \u2062with\u2063 the law.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe 2023 FISC Opinion\u2064 confirms the significant improvement in the \u200bFBI\u2019s Section\u200c 702 querying compliance since\u2063 the implementation of our substantial reforms,\u201d he said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fbi.gov\/news\/press-releases\/release-of-2023-foreign-intelligence-surveillance-court-opinion-highlights-fbis-improved-section-702-query-compliance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSection 702 is critical in our fight \u200bagainst foreign adversaries.\u202fWe take seriously our role in protecting national\u2064 security and we take just as seriously our responsibility \u200bto be good stewards of our Section 702 authorities,\u201d\u2064 Wray added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will continue to focus on using\u200d our Section 702 authorities to\u2062 protect American lives and keeping \u200cour Homeland safe, while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-inappropriately-used-spy-powers-on-u-s-senator-court-says\/\" title=\"FBI Misused Spy Powers on U.S. Senator, Court Rules\">safeguarding civil \u200drights<\/a> and liberties.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The \u200dFBI noted in its news release that Section 702 will expire on\u2062 Dec. \u206231 unless Congress takes\u200b action to reauthorize it.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/fbi-foreign-surveillance-section-702-a804ea3ee688d8670aa19610e6fa8494\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Associated Press<\/a> reported the \u2063Biden administration supports renewal of the program, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/possible-biden-pick-for-nec-scrubs-twitter-feed\/\" title=\"Possible Biden Pick for NEC Scrubs Twitter Feed\">faces bipartisan opposition<\/a> in Congress.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany Democratic and Republican \u2063lawmakers say they won\u2019t \u200cvote to renew Section \u200d702 when it expires at \u200bthis year\u2019s end\u200c without major changes \u200btargeting how the\u2062 FBI uses foreign surveillance\u2063 data \u2062to investigate Americans,\u201d \u200caccording to the AP.<\/p>\n<p>Patrick Toomey, deputy director of\u2062 the ACLU\u2019s National Security Project, said\u2063 in a <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/administration\/4110850-fbi-improperly-used-702-surveillance-powers-on-us-senator\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement<\/a>,\u2063 \u201cThe FBI continues to break the rules put in place to \u200cprotect Americans, running illegal searches on public officials\u200c including a U.S. senator, and it\u2019s long past time\u2063 for Congress to step \u200din.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs Congress\u200b debates reauthorizing Section 702, \u2062these opinions \u200cmake \u200bclear why fundamental reforms are urgently needed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/fbi-caught-improperly-using-spy-powers-time-us-senator-officials\/\">FBI\u200d Caught Again Improperly Using \u2064Spy Powers \u2062\u2013 This Time on US Senator and Other Officials<\/a> \u2062 appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\">The Western Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A recent court opinion disclosed that the FBI wrongly performed intelligence searches on a U.S. senator, a state senator, and a state judge. Under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, federal agencies can conduct focused surveillance on non-U.S. citizens abroad via intelligence databases. However, this incident involved U.S. citizens, raising concerns about the misuse of such powers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":662,"featured_media":1980876,"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":[548],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1980875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservative-news-daily"],"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\/1980875","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\/662"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1980875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1980875\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1980876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1980875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1980875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1980875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}