House Speaker Mike Johnson, once a vocal critic of controversial surveillance laws that target terrorists but often monitor Americans’ communications without warrants, is evolving on the issue.
Johnson (R-LA) actively opposes new warrant requirements for Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
As reported political insiderA single meeting with an intelligence agent caused the Chairman to do a complete 180-degree turn on the matter.
Johnson told reporters of his change in position, “When I was a member of the judiciary, I witnessed all the abuses by the FBI. The horrific abuses continued over and over again.”
“Then, when I became chairman, I went to SCIF and got a classified briefing from a sort of different perspective on it to understand the need for FISA Section 702 and how important it was to our national security,” he continued. “And it gave me a different perspective.”
Speaker Mike Johnson detailed the FISA flip-flop when he was a member of the House of Representatives, explaining that he had a “different perspective” after receiving classified briefings. pic.twitter.com/mrLj9ouEji
— Haley Talbot (@haleytalbotcnn) April 10, 2024
On Wednesday, 19 Republicans joined 209 Democrats to block the reauthorization of Section 702 of FISA. The current renewal status is somewhat uncertain, as it is set to expire on April 19th.
The Biden administration expects its information collection authority under Section 702 to remain in effect until April 2025, thanks to a previous opinion by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), which oversees surveillance applications.
RELATED: Speaker Mike Johnson explains his flip-flop on FISA spying on Americans.
Kash Patel: FISA laws need to be reformed
Kash Patel is a former White House official under President Trump. He served in a variety of intelligence and defense roles for the former president.
Patel’s spokesperson warned that the FISA program has been used extensively and illegally to target U.S. citizens. It also includes opposition to President Trump.
“FISC investigated and reported that the FBI under (FBI Director Christopher) Wray illegally used FISA against Americans 274,000 times last year alone,” they said in a statement.
Patel, a former deputy director of national intelligence and national security attorney, said: political insider About the current FISA controversy. He argues that there is only one logical conclusion to this problem.
“FISA needs to be reformed,” he said. “The RussiaGate investigation I led for Congress found that DOJ/FBI had the largest criminal use of FISA.”
The investigation launched by Special Counsel Robert Mueller from 2017 to 2019 was intended to examine Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, including any links or coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.
Patel explained political insider The final goal of the Ministry of Justice.
“The goal was to rig the election by weaponizing the intelligence community and launching the largest disinformation campaign in American political history,” he claims.
Despite the extensive investigation, Mueller’s final report found insufficient evidence to indict a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia.
RELATED: Trump urges Republicans to stop reauthorizing warrantless surveillance: ‘KILL FISA’
Why these reforms matter
Kash Patel, who was recently rumored to be under consideration for a variety of roles in a second Trump administration, from CIA director to attorney general, explains why FISA reform is so urgent.
“Americans should never be illegally surveilled using spy tools,” he says. political insider. “Our government should never use these defense measures against political opponents.”
In response, Patel believes FISA 702 has been used against other presidential candidates besides Trump.
“The FBI has led allegations of illegal surveillance of one presidential candidate that we know of, and we must ask whether there are other candidates,” he argues. “It should shock your conscience that the answer to that question is seriously questionable.”
The FBI and DOJ abused their FISA powers and engaged in warrantless surveillance of countless Americans.
We need more safeguards, but we also need to find a balance between national security and limits on government power. pic.twitter.com/QVFysQWmw0
— Mercedes Schlapp (@mercedesschlapp) April 11, 2024
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump earlier this week strongly called on Congress to “end” the FISA program.
“Kill FISA,” he wrote on his Truth social media platform. “It has been used illegally against me and many others. “They spied on my campaign!”
While Patel pushes for reform, he acknowledges how past abuses of FISA have raised concerns among critics of the program, which he proposes simply abolishing.
“The Deep State’s repeated and unlawful abuse of FISA has created severe distrust. “Their goal has always been to be all about Trump,” he says. political insider. “They have taken no steps to provide meaningful relief and their accountability is close to zero.”
Can Trump fix it?
Patel added that a new administration must take office to restore Americans’ trust in their intelligence community. The most notable victim of the FISA program may be the only person capable of fixing the system.
“The mission is to replace the leadership who designed these unconstitutional technologies to restore trust in our institutions of government,” he declares. “That mission is led by Donald Trump.”
But the fight Trump faces to win the election will be an uphill one. If you ask me if it is a ‘deep state’ yet That’s true for Patel, who is working to take down the Republican candidate and is using the media to support his mission. He suggested that it could be so.
“The FBI has millions of dollars in contracts with big tech companies just for this election,” he said. “what do you think?”
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