House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has been a tough critic of a controversial surveillance law aimed at targeting terrorists but that often spies on Americans’ communications without a warrant, is taking the issue Things evolve.
Johnson (R-LA) actively opposes new search warrant requirements under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
It is reported political insiderJust one meeting with intelligence officers caused the Speaker to do a 180-degree turn on the matter.
“When I was a member of the Justice Department, I saw all the abuses at the FBI – there were horrific abuses, over and over again,” Johnson told reporters of his change in stance.
“When I became Speaker, I went to SCIF and got a classified briefing from another perspective on the need for FISA Section 702 and its importance to national security,” he continued. “It gave me a different perspective.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson detailed his FISA policy when he was a rank-and-file member of the House, explaining that he had a “different perspective” after receiving the classified briefing. pic.twitter.com/mrLj9ouEji
— Haley Talbot (@haleytalbotcnn) April 10, 2024
On Wednesday, 19 Republicans joined 209 Democrats in blocking the reauthorization of FISA’s Section 702.
The Biden administration expects its intelligence-gathering powers under Section 702 to remain in effect until April 2025, following an earlier opinion from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), which oversees surveillance applications.
RELATED: House Speaker Mike Johnson explains his back-and-forth on FISA surveillance of Americans
Kash Patel: Foreign intelligence surveillance laws must be reformed
Kash Patel is a former White House official under President Trump. He served in various intelligence and defense roles for former presidents.
A spokesperson for Patel warned that the FISA program has been used extensively and illegally to target U.S. citizens. Including opposing President Trump.
“FISC investigated and reported [FBI Director Christopher] Last year alone, Wray’s FBI illegally used FISA 274,000 times against Americans,” they said in a statement.
Former Deputy Director of National Intelligence and National Security Attorney Patel interviewed political insider On the current FISA debate. He insisted there was only one logical conclusion to the matter.
“The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act must be reformed,” he said. “The RussiaGate investigation I led for Congress uncovered the largest FISA crime in DOJ/FBI history.”
An investigation launched by special counsel Robert Mueller between 2017 and 2019 looked into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, including any links or coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russian government .
Patel explains political insider The ultimate goal of the Department of Justice.
“Our goal is to rig the election by weaponizing the intelligence community and launching the largest disinformation campaign in American political history,” he insisted.
Despite an extensive investigation, Mueller’s final report found insufficient evidence to charge a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia.
RELATED: Trump urges Republicans to halt warrantless surveillance reauthorization: ‘Kill FISA’
Why these reforms are important
Kash Patel, who was recently rumored to be considering a variety of roles in a second Trump administration, from CIA director to attorney general, explains why FISA reform So urgent.
“Americans must not be subject to illegal surveillance using espionage tools, period,” he told us political insider. “Our government must not use these defense measures against political opponents.”
In this regard, Patel believes that FISA 702 has been used against other presidential candidates besides Trump.
“We know that the FBI led the illegal surveillance of one presidential candidate, and we should certainly question whether there were other candidates,” he argued. “The fact that the answer to this question is seriously questionable should shock the conscience.”
The FBI and DOJ have abused their Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) powers to conduct unauthorized surveillance of so many Americans.
It needs more safeguards, but we also need to find a balance between national security and limiting government power. pic.twitter.com/QVFysQWmw0
— Mercedes Schlapp (@mercedesschlapp) April 11, 2024
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump sternly asked Congress to “end” the FISA program earlier this week.
“Kill FISA,” he wrote on his Truth social media platform. “It was used illegally against me and many others. They spied on my campaign!
While Patel pushes for reform, he acknowledges why past FISA abuses have alarmed critics of the program, who have suggested scrapping it altogether.
“The ‘Deep State’ has repeatedly illegally abused foreign intelligence surveillance techniques, creating deep distrust. Their target has been everything about Trump,” he told us political insider. “They have taken no meaningful recourse and there is almost zero accountability.”
Can Trump solve this problem?
Patel added that a new administration must be formed to restore American confidence in the intelligence community. Perhaps the most famous victim of the FISA program was the only person capable of fixing the system.
“Our mission is to restore trust in our institutions of government by restoring trust in our institutions of government through regime change against the leadership group that invented these unconstitutional technologies,” he declared. “That mission is led by Donald Trump.”
Still, the fight Trump faces to win the election will be a tough one.When asked if there is a “deep state” still Patel, who is committed to unseating Republican candidates and using the media to aid in that mission, said yes, you can.
“During the election period alone, the FBI signed millions of dollars in contracts with big tech companies,” he said. “what do you think?”
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