{"id":2320311,"date":"2024-08-07T04:19:01","date_gmt":"2024-08-07T08:19:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watchdog-demands-dhs-ig-investigate-surveillance-state\/"},"modified":"2024-08-07T04:26:34","modified_gmt":"2024-08-07T08:26:34","slug":"watchdog-demands-dhs-ig-investigate-surveillance-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watchdog-demands-dhs-ig-investigate-surveillance-state\/","title":{"rendered":"Watchdog Demands DHS IG Investigate Surveillance State"},"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\">14<\/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%2Fwatchdog-demands-dhs-ig-investigate-surveillance-state%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=2320311&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--><p>A non-partisan whistleblower watchdog \u200dgroup, Empower Oversight, is urging the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-republican-whose-phone-was-seized-in-jan-6-probe-might-soon-investigate-the-fbi\/\" title=\"House Republican Whose Phone Was Seized in Jan. 6 Probe Might Soon Investigate the FBI\">investigate alleged abuses<\/a> of surveillance\u2063 practices. In a letter sent on Monday, \u2062Empower Oversight outlined a whistleblower&#8217;s claims that the U.S. Federal Air Marshals Service (FAMS) was improperly \u2063targeting individuals for enhanced surveillance. Among those allegedly monitored is former \u200dCongresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who has been labeled a &#8220;domestic terrorist&#8221; for attending a rally\u200b on \u2062January 6, 2021, despite being nowhere near the U.S. Capitol during the\u2064 events of that day. The letter details attempts by the whistleblower\u200d to report these issues to various governmental entities since 2021, including \u200ca successful effort to remove his \u200cwife from a terror\u200d watchlist in 2023. \u2064The situation highlights ongoing concerns regarding the surveillance state and its\u200c impact on individual rights, particularly \u2062in light of recent legislative actions that critics\u2064 argue undermine these rights. Gabbard has\u2064 been an outspoken critic of surveillance practices and \u2063continues to engage with political discourse as a pundit and \u200cauthor.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>A non-partisan whistleblower watchdog group is demanding the inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to investigate new alleged abuses of the surveillance state ignored by the administration.<\/p>\n<p>On Monday, the non-profit Empower Oversight sent a letter to the agency investigator outlining a whistleblower report which alleged the U.S. Federal Air Marshals Service (FAMS) &ldquo;was improperly targeting individuals for enhanced surveillance.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>Those in the round-up of individuals surveilled include former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, and the whistleblower&rsquo;s wife, who had been &ldquo;improperly labeled a &lsquo;domestic terrorist&rsquo; and targeted for FAMS &lsquo;Special Mission Coverage&rsquo; simply because she attended President Donald Trump&rsquo;s January 6, 2021 speech at the ellipse in Washington D.C.,&rdquo; according to the letter.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;She was nowhere near the U.S. Capitol complex that day, yet her FAMS file falsely stated she &lsquo;unlawfully entered the United States Capitol Building on [Jan. 6, 2021],&#8217;&rdquo; the letter read. <\/p>\n<p>Individuals who are being investigated under &ldquo;Special Mission Coverage&rdquo; are subject to additional screening by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on top of FAMS surveillance. <\/p>\n<p>The whistleblower represented by the legal non-profit had previously filed reports to disclose the misconduct to the agency inspector general in 2021 and 2022. The whistleblower also made reports to the office of Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, &ldquo;informing them that his chain of command knew his wife had been falsely listed as a domestic terrorist who entered the U.S. Capitol.&rdquo; The Office of Special Counsel, however, denied the whistleblower&rsquo;s request to refer their charges to the inspector general.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Ultimately, the whistleblower was able to work with the FBI to have his wife&rsquo;s name removed from the terror watchlist in the spring of 2023,&rdquo; read Monday&rsquo;s letter. &ldquo;Yet clearing his own wife&rsquo;s name did not remedy the clear abuses of FAMS surveillance or deter further abuses &mdash; as the recent Tulsi Gabbard revelations demonstrate.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Gabbard, who served in the House of Representatives from 2013 to 2021, has spent the last decade criticizing the surveillance state. In 2020, she <a href=\"https:\/\/homelandprepnews.com\/stories\/59102-reps-gabbard-massie-sponsor-bill-to-repeal-patriot-act-fisa-amendments\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">proposed<\/a> legislation with Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., to reform the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and repeal the Patriot Act. Congressional Republicans voted to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/congress\/house-votes-renew-fisa-spying-tool-earlier-republican-revolt-rcna147557\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">renew<\/a> FISA in April with no substantive reforms after the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/putins-nightmare-ukraine-has-become-the-russian-militarys-graveyard\/\" title=\"Putin&#039;s Nightmare: Ukraine Has Become the Russian Military&#039;s Graveyard\">surveillance law<\/a> was weaponized to undermine former President Donald Trump&rsquo;s 2016 campaign.<\/p>\n<p>The surveillance law&rsquo;s reauthorization, said Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, &ldquo;shows wanton disregard for the rights of Americans.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>Tonight the Senate passed the House-passed FISA expansion bill&mdash;after rejecting seven different amendments requiring a warrant and otherwise reforming FISA 702.<\/p>\n<p>This is a horrible bill. <\/p>\n<p>It shows wanton disregard for the rights of Americans.<\/p>\n<p>This is not a day to celebrate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&mdash; Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BasedMikeLee\/status\/1781534716526576025?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 20, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Since leaving Congress three years ago, Gabbard has remained an active pundit with a new podcast and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Love-Country-left-Democratic-Party\/dp\/1684514851\/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Y3j5RZlFshtrN3NopU-2dKjZXraf9EdSpoWSDpOJvrHGjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.8jJ3wRybPdqh38S_xpGnBhdCa9s7ATyryg7fCRvd8KY&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;qid=1722976231&amp;refinements=p_27%3ATulsi+Gabbard&amp;s=books&amp;sr=1-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">book<\/a> critical of incumbent Democrats. According to the Monday letter from Empower Oversight, Gabbard came under <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dea-loses-track-of-drug-mule-caught-delivering-enough-fentanyl-to-kill-25-million-people\/\" title=\"DEA Loses Track Of Drug Mule Caught Delivering Enough Fentanyl To Kill 25 Million People\">federal surveillance<\/a> by the FAMS Quiet Skies program &ldquo;one day after she criticized the Biden Administration in an interview with Laura Ingraham&rdquo; with a reference to the post below:<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Kamala Harris is not knowledgeable or strong enough to stand up to potential adversaries, or just as importantly the unelected warmongers &mdash; i.e. the Military Industrial Complex which profits from war, and the National Security State which uses these wars as a pretext to further&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1uUS6CtGii\">pic.twitter.com\/1uUS6CtGii<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Tulsi Gabbard &#127802; (@TulsiGabbard) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TulsiGabbard\/status\/1815697038371397993?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 23, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;Air Marshals were assigned to their first flight with Ms. Gabbard on July 25, 2024,&rdquo; Empower Oversight reported. &ldquo;Absent any significant evidence that Ms. Gabbard actually poses a significant threat, this is a gross waste of taxpayer resources and an abuse of TSA&rsquo;s authority.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>Read the full letter from Empower Oversight below:<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"View FILE_6292 on Scribd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/756697417\/FILE-6292#from_embed\">FILE_6292<\/a> by <a title=\"View The Federalist's profile on Scribd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/user\/274202084\/The-Federalist#from_embed\">The Federalist<\/a><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Tristan Justice is the western correspondent for The Federalist and the author of Social Justice Redux, a conservative newsletter on culture, health, and wellness. He has also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has also been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox News. Tristan graduated from George Washington University where he majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at Tristan@thefederalist.com. Sign up for Tristan&#8217;s email newsletter <a href=\"https:\/\/socialjusticeredux.substack.com\/about\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A non-partisan whistleblower advocacy organization is urging the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to look into new claims of surveillance state abuses that have been overlooked by the administration. On Monday, Empower Oversight, a non-profit group, submitted a letter to the agency&#8217;s investigator detailing a whistleblower report that accused the U.S. Federal Air Marshals Service (FAMS) of &#8220;improperly targeting individuals for increased surveillance.&#8221; Among those surveilled are former Representative Tulsi Gabbard from Hawaii and the wife of the whistleblower, who was wrongly classified as a &#8220;domestic terrorist&#8221; and subjected to FAMS&#8217; &#8220;Special Mission Coverage&#8221; simply for attending President Donald Trump&#8217;s speech on January 6, 2021. The letter states that she was not near the U.S. Capitol that day but her FAMS file inaccurately claimed she had &#8220;unlawfully entered&#8221; it.<\/p>\n<p>Individuals under &#8220;Special Mission Coverage&#8221; face additional scrutiny from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in addition to FAMS monitoring. The whistleblower had previously reported this misconduct to DHS&#8217;s inspector general in 2021 and 2022 and also informed Senator Ron Johnson\u2019s office and the U.S. Office of Special Counsel about his wife&#8217;s false designation as a domestic terrorist entering Congress on January 6; however, his request for referral was denied by Special Counsel.<\/p>\n<p>The letter notes that while he successfully collaborated with FBI agents to remove his wife&#8217;s name from terror watchlists in spring 2023, this did not address ongoing issues with FAMS surveillance or prevent further abuses\u2014evidenced by recent developments involving Gabbard.<\/p>\n<p>Gabbard served in Congress from 2013 until 2021 and has been vocal against government surveillance practices over her decade-long career. In 2020, she co-sponsored legislation aimed at reforming the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) alongside Representative Thomas Massie; however, Congressional Republicans renewed FISA without significant changes after it was allegedly misused during Trump\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n<p>Senator Mike Lee criticized this reauthorization as showing blatant disregard for American rights. Recently passed by Senate vote after rejecting multiple amendments aimed at reforming FISA provisions shows continued concern over civil liberties.<\/p>\n<p>Since leaving Congress three years ago, Gabbard has remained active as a commentator through her podcast and book criticizing current Democrats. According to Empower Oversight&#8217;s letter dated Monday, Gabbard came under federal scrutiny via FAMS&#8217; Quiet Skies program just one day after publicly criticizing President Biden during an interview with Laura Ingraham.<\/p>\n<p>Empower Oversight reported that air marshals were assigned their first flight involving Gabbard shortly thereafter on July 25th without any substantial evidence indicating she posed any real threat\u2014deeming such actions an inefficient use of taxpayer funds and an abuse of TSA authority<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":494,"featured_media":2320312,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/3745037395_7a8bc6b9f9_k-e1722977450923.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[7492,37400,37401,6056],"class_list":["post-2320311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-dhs","tag-ig","tag-surveillance-state","tag-watchdog"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/3745037395_7a8bc6b9f9_k-e1722977450923.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2320311","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\/494"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2320311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2320311\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2320312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2320311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2320311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2320311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}