Members of the House Judiciary Committee who identify as Republicans are advocating for extensive modifications to the government’s surveillance authorities under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). These proposed changes include the prohibition of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from conducting searches of telephone records belonging to American citizens without obtaining prior judicial authorization.
It is anticipated that the expiration of multiple Patriot Act authority at the conclusion of the year will coincide with the completion of the endeavor.
According to statements provided by legislators to Just the News, there appears to be a noteworthy instance of bipartisan collaboration between members of the Republican and Democratic parties over this matter.
During an appearance with “Just The News,” Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan expressed the belief that “We’ve got, I think, strong agreement amongst members of the Intelligence Committee and members of the Judiciary Committee. And frankly, some Democrats as well, that there needs to be stronger penalties if you abuse the system.”
According to Jordan, his primary emphasis was on the Section 702 system, which grants agents the ability to search phone calls metadata and “where they can create this database” without the need for a warrant.
Earlier this year, a declassified report by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court disclosed that FBI agents had engaged in unlawful searches of Americans’ phone records on over 270,000 occasions within a span of two years. This revelation has raised concerns among specialists in civil liberties and has garnered criticism from members of both political parties.
“There needs to be more transparency, more accountability, more audits, and more reporting to Congress and the American people,” Jordan argued. “So I think we have broad agreement there that those kinds of fundamental changes have to happen.
“But then the real question—maybe the more fundamental question—is: do we require a warrant before you can query any information regarding American citizens?” he continued. “I think you should. That’s where the Judiciary Committee members are, and we’re going to try to work through that issue.”
According to Jordan, a more extensive revision of the government’s expanded authorities granted by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, implemented in response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, would primarily focus on a significant modification to the surveillance provisions outlined in Section 702.
Jordan expressed his belief “I think there will be a significant overhaul of Section 702, but not the entire FISA. The following two months are our target here.”
Representative Andy Biggs, a Republican from Arizona, has been actively engaging in informal dialogues with members of both the Republican and Democratic parties for an extended period of time, with the aim of fostering a bipartisan consensus. Biggs expressed his admiration for Jordan and his fellow colleagues for their collaborative approach.
Biggs stated that “We’ve been working in a task force with the Intel Committee guys. I think we’ve reached a lot of harmony on a lot of ideas. The last issue probably is just how we solve some of these issues where the FBI, NSA, and CIA want to go in and look at phone records and other private data points.”
“And that’s where we’re going to solve those… I think we’re going to smooth it out and hopefully be able to get something done before the end of the year. I believe we will,” Biggs predicted.
Jordan garnered significant media attention recently with his announcement that the House Judiciary Committee has initiated an inquiry into allegations suggesting that the Justice Department engaged in surveillance activities targeting members of Congress and their respective staff members.
Senator Chuck Grassley, a member of the Republican Party from Iowa, is currently investigating accusations regarding the Department of Justice’s alleged surveillance of his former chief investigative counsel, Jason Foster. On Tuesday, Jordan publicly disclosed the inquiry on Fox Business.
During an interview on Fox Business’s The Evening Edit with Elizabeth MacDonald, Jordan asserted that “We now know that they spied on congressional staffers. We want to know, how far does it go? Were they spying on members? Were they spying on other staffers? Keep this in mind, Liz: We know they spied on President Trump’s campaign. We know all that from the FISA Court and what they did with Carter Page and Papadopoulos—everything else. Now we’ve learned that they spied on one of Sen. Grassley’s staff members, Jason Foster.”
“We want to know, does it go further?” Jordan asked pointedly. “So we’ve sent letters not only to the Department of Justice but to all these carriers that the Department of Justice worked with to get the phone records and the email records from congressional staffers like Mr. Foster. How far does this go? Were they spying on members and other staff?”
Jordan sent correspondence to the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Alphabet, Apple, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, as well as Attorney General Merrick Garland, inquiring about the purported efforts made by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to acquire the confidential communications of Congressional members and their staff, as a component of the ongoing inquiry.
The letter addressed to Apple CEO Tim Cook expressed strong disapproval, saying “The Justice Department’s efforts to obtain the private communications of congressional staffers, including staffers conducting oversight of the Department, are wholly unacceptable and offend fundamental separation of powers principles as well as Congress’s constitutional authority to conduct oversight of the Department.”
The subsequent correspondence further expounds upon the assertion that the Department of Justice (DOJ) had issued subpoenas to congressional staffers who were conducting an inquiry into the DOJ’s Crossfire Hurricane operation on behalf of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. The purpose of these summons was to acquire emails and records.
The letter asserted that “These revelations strongly suggest that the Justice Department weaponized its law-enforcement authority to spy on the entities seeking to hold it accountable.”
In his capacity as the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jordan has placed significant emphasis on investigating claims regarding the potential misuse of the Department of Justice for political purposes under the Biden administration.
The House Judiciary Committee is currently conducting an investigation into the alleged politicization of the Hunter Biden probe. As part of this inquiry, federal prosecutors have been summoned to participate in confidential transcribed interviews.
Sources: Just the News
Reuters
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