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The politicization and weaponization of the FBI have accelerated in recent years.
The Deep State has used Americans’ concerns about terrorism to increase the power of the surveillance state.
And the FBI has been using this law to spy on law-abiding Americans. The question is, will Congress allow it to continue?
Time to reform or kill 702
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, was originally created to target terrorists following 9/11.
But now government agents are now using it to spy on American citizens.
And it’s up for Congressional reauthorization at the end of this year.
That’s why many conservatives and liberty advocates are renewing efforts to either reform, or better yet, kill section 702 of FISA.
Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan is leading that charge in the House.
Jordan is adamant that Congress must make reforming FISA a top priority.
“This is the most important thing we’re probably going to do this Congress,” Jordan said.
Section 702 expires on December 31st and critics increasingly say it should simply be allowed to die.
Especially now that the FBI’s abuse of the law is being exposed as they use it to spy on average Americans without probable cause.
The FBI is using Telecom companies to collect data from phone and Internet use.
This information then goes into a National Security Agency database.
Approximately 10,000 people at the U.S. Justice Department are then able to access and search the database.
More than 200,000 violations
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence reports that 30% of the 3.4 million queries made in 2021 were “in error.”
And a FISA filing that was unsealed last spring showed that the FBI illegally used warrantless search powers against U.S. citizens more than 278,000 times in 2021 alone.
Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) recently confronted FBI Director Christopher Wray about those violations during a congressional hearing.
“The court said it was over 200,000 that have occurred on your watch. Well, do you have any basis to disagree with that assessment?” Gaetz asked Wray.
“Again, I don’t have the number as I sit here right now,” Wray responded.
“What can I say? It’s like, a number you should know – how many times the FBI is breaking the law under your watch,” Gaetz responded.
The FBI illegally searched both January Sixth and George Floyd protestors.
A growing number of members of Congress believe the warrantless searches are criminal violations.
Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) asked Assistant U.S. Attorney General Matthew Olson, “What is the Justice Department doing to punish folks who have already abused FISA?”
Olson replied, “It’s on the spectrum for intentional misuse. Agents and analysts can be fired. In fact, one person was fired for wrongfully violating the rules intentionally, with respect to FISA,” he explained.
However, Olson then made the ridiculous claim that they weren’t really violations.
“But the vast majority of the mistakes we’ve seen are not intentional,” he claimed.
In the case of former Trump campaign official Carter Page, the FISA court issued a warrant after the FBI submitted falsified information.
Some members of Congress are ready to end FISA altogether, while others feel simply updating the law is enough.
Congressman Jordan believes the solution is straightforward.
“The solution is simple, right? Require probable cause if you’re going to query this database on American citizens. How about we just get the FBI out of the business altogether? What if the FBI can’t query this database, you can’t even mess with the pod, the FBI can’t query this database on American citizens? “
“We’ve got other agencies that do it already.”
Informed American will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
Rose Rambles... 