Congress set for clash over surveillance reforms

[Warlord]

 

[Warlord]

Rand Paul says Trump backs broader FISA reforms, throwing curveball at intelligence bill

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Thursday that President Trump backs his proposal to include reforms to the surveillance court as part of a bill reauthorizing expiring intelligence programs, complicating the path forward for the legislation.

"The [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] reforms that I think are very necessary is that FISA warrants shouldn't be issued on Americans and any information gathered by the FISA court shouldn't used against Americans. It's for foreign intelligence. This is a big reform. ...I think it will get bipartisan support. I've talked to the president about it," Paul said.

Paul said he would insist on a vote to get the reforms to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance court he is pushing for included in any bill to reauthorize three expiring provisions of the USA Freedom Act.

"He's supportive of my amendment," Paul added, asked about his conversation with the president.

Trump's decision to back including reforms to the surveillance court in the intelligence bill puts him at odds with Senate GOP leadership and Attorney General Bill Barr, who told Republican senators in a closed-door lunch on Tuesday that the president would back a clean extension.

Trump has not weighed in publicly about reauthorizing the expiring provisions of the USA Freedom Act, a 2015 bill that overhauled the post-9/11 Patriot Act. Congress has until March 15 to extend the three expiring provisions, including a controversial phone records program known as Section 215 that allows the government to request specific metadata from conversations.

Barr, according to GOP senators, told them during the closed-door lunch that Trump would back a "clean" extension of the three programs.

Barr also pledged to use his own rulemaking authority to make changes to the FISA courts.

But Trump's GOP allies on Capitol Hill have argued that doesn't go far enough. They are pushing to make broad changes to the FISA courts in the wake of Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz's report on surveillance of Trump campaign associate Carter Page.

A spokesman for Sen. Mike Lee said on that the Utah Republican, who is also pushing to use the reauthorization bill to include broad surveillance reforms, has spoken with Trump.

"Sen. Lee has had multiple positive phone calls with President Trump on this," the aide said.

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate...ks-broader-fisa-reforms-throwing-curveball-at

 

[Warlord]

This is HUGE news.

Let the battle begin...

[MENTION=3169]Anti Federalist[/MENTION] , [MENTION=11178]Bern[/MENTION] , [MENTION=1874]Brian4Liberty[/MENTION] , [MENTION=68155]Anti Globalist[/MENTION] , [MENTION=27246]oyarde[/MENTION]

Rand will not give up until the losers in Congress submit.

 

[TheCount]

@TheCount I think you owe Rand an apology?

An apology for what?

 

[Warlord]

An apology for what?

You said this would never happen. That Rand is not an insider etc. Well check the updates!

 

[TheCount]

You said this would never happen.

That is a lie.

That Rand is not an insider etc.

Yes, while you were weaseling about with the definitions of administration and insider, I said that he is not an insider. I still maintain that he is not a part of the administration.

Is there a reason why you're posting this without quotes in a different thread from the thread where that discussion took place? Other than being intentionally deceitful, that is.

 

[Warlord]

That is a lie.

Yes, while you were weaseling about with the definitions of administration and insider, I said that he is not an insider. I still maintain that he is not a part of the administration.

Is there a reason why you're posting this without quotes in a different thread from the thread where that discussion took place? Other than being intentionally deceitful, that is.

I said there was a tug of war within the administration and in Congress. You took issue with that.

Here's more evidence of the tug of war:

Internally, the Trump administration also remains divided, with reports earlier this week suggesting that factions within the White House wanted reforms, but were opposed by others.

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/rand-paul-says-trump-wants-fisa-reform-now/

And:

https://www.nationalreview.com/news...-major-fisa-reform-ahead-of-march-expiration/

I am pleased to report that Rand is winning!

 

[TheCount]

I said there was a tug of war within the administration and in Congress. You took issue with that.

This is why multiquotes are good, because without multiquotes, people like you ignore the entire post to write something unrelated while pretending that they responded to its content.

 

[Warlord]

This is why multiquotes are good, because without multiquotes, people like you ignore the entire post to write something unrelated while pretending that they responded to its content.

Just sit back and enjoy the fireworks.

 

[Warlord]

Rand Paul and Trump thrust fate of surveillance law into doubt

The Republican senator said the president made comments contradicting his attorney general.

President Donald Trump told Sen. Rand Paul that he does not support a clean extension of expiring surveillance authorities, throwing the future of the program into doubt ahead of a fast-approaching March 15 deadline to reup key features of the Patriot Act.

The Kentucky Republican told reporters that Trump made the comments to him on Wednesday, just a day after Attorney General William Barr told GOP senators that Congress should extend the expiring provisions regarding roving wire taps, lone wolf actors and the most controversial provision: call data collection.

Asked about the discrepancy between his conversation with Trump and Barr's remarks to senators, Paul said there was “misinformation that got out from some people in the administration” about the expiring surveillance authorities.

“The president was out of the country and somebody mischaracterized his positions. I’ll leave it up to y’all to figure that out,” Paul added.

Paul said Trump is “very supportive” of his amendment to prevent the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act from targeting Americans, a reflection of conservative unease over the way the Trump campaign was surveilled in 2016.

“FISA warrants should not be issued against Americans,” Paul said on Thursday afternoon. “Americans shouldn't be spied on by a secret court. I think he agrees completely with that and that’s the amendment that I’m going to insist on. I’m not letting anything go easy without a vote on my amendment.”

Paul’s conversation with Trump could blow up plans by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to extend those expiring authorities, which McConnell said was his preference on Tuesday. It also suggests a fresh schism between Barr and Trump after Trump weighed in on the sentencing of his longtime ally Roger Stone, a development that Barr said made his job “impossible.”

Most Senate Republicans want Barr to stay in his job and many of them agree with his position on the FISA courts. Paul voted against Barr’s confirmation as attorney general, the only Republican to do so.

Barr suggested to Republicans that he could make some of the changes sought by Republicans, including to blunt the ability of the FISA courts to target Americans, through new regulations. Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he planned to talk about the matter on Friday and try and suggest a compromise.

“The best thing is for me to try and find out what happened and see if we need to do more than the attorney general’s done. So maybe an extension for a period of time that allows us to come back toward the end of the year, maybe would work," Graham said.

But that’s unlikely to satisfy Paul, who said he doesn’t care whether the provisions expire anyway since he opposes the Patriot Act to begin with.

Barr “wants to do just his own regulatory reforms, some of which are good but are not enough. We have to fix the law,” Paul said. “His tenure could be six months and then the next attorney general changes it. This is an inflection point where we should change the law.”

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/27/rand-paul-trump-surveillance-law-117940

 

[oyarde]

This is HUGE news.

Let the battle begin...

[MENTION=3169]Anti Federalist[/MENTION] , [MENTION=11178]Bern[/MENTION] , [MENTION=1874]Brian4Liberty[/MENTION] , [MENTION=68155]Anti Globalist[/MENTION] , [MENTION=27246]oyarde[/MENTION]

Rand will not give up until the losers in Congress submit.

That is because he actually tries to do his job.

 

[Warlord]

That is because he actually tries to do his job.

Wonder what Pelosi/McConnell/Graham are going to do now. They will have something planned.

Rand will stand his ground along with Mike Lee and some other fellow travellers.

 

[pmbug]

I have low expectations, so I'll be pleasantly surprised if anything significant comes from this. With the election and Corona virus dominating the news, I wonder if this current event even registers with the masses.

 

[Warlord]

I have low expectations, so I'll be pleasantly surprised if anything significant comes from this. With the election and Corona virus dominating the news, I wonder if this current event even registers with the masses.

Rand is kicking ass...

But the Deep State won't go lying down. I'll keep an eye on it!

 

[Warlord]

McConnell thinks he can find enough Republicans and (corrupt) Democrats to pass an extension.

I'm not so sure. Be interesting to see how this plays out.. The clock is ticking.

Surveillance fight pits Trump allies against each other

A burgeoning fight over whether to renew expiring intelligence programs is sparking a power struggle between some of President Trump's biggest allies on Capitol Hill.

Congress has roughly 10 working days to come up with a deal to extend three expiring provisions of the USA Freedom Act, a 2015 law that overhauled the nation’s surveillance programs.

Those talks — which were already expected to be fragile given the skepticism from progressives and libertarian-minded Republicans — have hit a political powder keg in the GOP, exposing deep divisions within the party.

On one side is Attorney General William Barr, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.). The other consists of Trump confidants like Reps. Jim Jordan (Ohio) and Doug Collins (Ga.) and Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.).

Sen. John Thune (S.D.), the No. 2 Republican senator, said he hoped Congress could pass a “discrete package” that extended the programs, while also acknowledging the intra-party disagreements that could make it a challenge.

“We have a number of our members who are very interested in using the opportunity that we have in front of us to sort of expand the discussion about some of the things that went wrong and some of the findings in the [inspector general] report that need to be addressed,” he said, referring to Justice Department inspector general Michael Horowitz’s report that found shortcomings in the application process for surveillance warrants.

Beyond the immediate debate about whether to extend, end or reform the sunsetting programs — which deal with roving wiretaps, lone wolf surveillance and a controversial phone records program — is a larger fight about using any reauthorization legislation to reform the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance, or FISA, court.

The shadowy court has emerged as a prime target for Trump, and his allies on Capitol Hill, after Horowitz’s report last year found 17 “significant inaccuracies and omissions” in the warrant applications to surveil Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

Horowitz’s findings have fueled calls from Republicans to use the USA Freedom bill to take a shot at larger FISA reforms over concerns about the potential for abuse within the surveillance court and warrant applications, even as Barr and McConnell back a “clean” extension of the intelligence programs.

“We’ve got to make sure that we do our job and we fix this law, it’s bad,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) told Fox News. “We should say this law has been used … by the president's political enemies against the president before he became president and after. We shouldn’t allow this to continue.”

Collins, speaking before a crowd of Republican activists at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), said “it’s got to be reformed.”

“We have to do something with FISA, and the House needs to do it, and the Senate needs to take it up, and we need to send it to the president so we know that this will not happen again,” he said, earning applause from the GOP audience.

Lawmakers who want to reform the FISA court are floating a myriad of potential changes including increased legal representation for individuals targeted for surveillance and built-in penalties for government officials found to abuse the court process.

But those plans are at odds with a pitch made by Barr to do a straightforward extension of the three expiring surveillance programs.

Barr’s approach has been embraced by Senate GOP leaders, including McConnell, who have traditionally aligned with granting an administration surveillance authority.

“I personally happen to be among those who think that these expiring provisions are important, and I hope we will be able to find a bipartisan way to extend them,” McConnell told reporters during a weekly leadership press conference.

One option being floated by Senate Republicans would be to extend the expiring provisions of the law until 2022.

In the meantime, Barr told GOP senators that he would use his own rulemaking ability to make changes to the court and warrant application process that would line up with recommendations made by Horowitz.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is planning to use his gavel to do a deep dive on the FISA process, including the Page warrant application. That includes closed-door depositions in the coming days.

Graham added that the Senate could take up FISA-related legislation separate from the USA Freedom Act debate, but in the meantime he wants to “find out what happened” with the Page application.

“You start at the bottom and work your way up. Try to find out people who were in charge of the investigation day-to-day,” he added.

But it’s unclear if that will be enough to win over other Republicans and Trump.

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) argued that the administration was asking for a “blank check” despite unanswered questions about the surveillance of Page.

“I appreciate the fact that some have offered to fix it internally and administratively, and that’s certainly better than nothing … but if you don’t think we need to fix it, all you’ve got to do is just spend a few minutes going through the Horowitz report,” he said. “We need to fix this now.”

Kennedy added that he could support a short-term extension to give lawmakers more time to get a deal on broader FISA reforms.

Paul told reporters that Trump supports his amendment to block the FISA warrants from being used against Americans, and to block FISA court information from being used against a U.S. citizen in domestic courts.

Trump has largely stayed on the sidelines of the surveillance debate, though he’s talked privately with lawmakers, including Paul and Lee, about making broader FISA reforms.

He also retweeted Jordan’s call for FISA reforms, including a 1 a.m. blast that “they spied on my campaign!”

Those tweets did not go unnoticed on Capitol Hill, where Trump is viewed the wildcard in the surveillance debate.

“I saw some of those tweets. I think the president’s concerns are going to be addressed by in large in the hearings and the work we’re going to do in the Judiciary Committee,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).

“None of the authorities...that are expiring really relate to that,” Cornyn added. “I trust the attorney general to speak plainly to the president and explain that to him.”

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/485256-surveillance-fight-pits-trump-allies-against-each-other

 

[pmbug]

* necro bump *

SCOTUS lets sleeping dogs lie

The Supreme Court declined to hear Wikimedia v. NSA, Wikimedia’s challenge to the NSA’s mass surveillance of Internet communications under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which expires at the end of 2023. The district court and Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals both ruled that the case must be dismissed under the “state secrets privilege” because the NSA said it would have to reveal national security secrets to defend its actions in court.
...

https://epic.org/supreme-court-refuses-to-hear-case-challenging-nsa-surveillance/

Background:

A newly released government audit revealed details about the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) abuse its access to foreign intelligence information collected under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Section 702, which is due to expire at the end of 2023, authorizes the government to target foreigners for surveillance and acquire their internet communications with the compelled cooperation of U.S. service providers. According to the audit, highlighted in a Wired report today, FBI personnel conducted unlawful searches of Section 702 databases on numerous occasions, including searches relating to a member of Congress, a local political party, and a tip based on racial profiling.

For years, EPIC has advocated for a ban on warrantless backdoor searches, arguing that the FBI’s query and use Section 702 data in routine criminal investigations entirely unrelated to national security without a warrant—or even an individualized court order—raises Fourth Amendment concerns. Most recently, EPIC urged the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board to recommend prohibiting warrantless backdoor searches and has joined a coalition of civil liberties groups proposing broader reform to Section 702. EPIC is also committed to increasing transparency around the FBI’s Section 702 activities. In EPIC v. NSD, EPIC obtained a report containing important information about the FBI’s use of Section 702 authority.

EPIC recently published an overview of Section 702 as part of a new blog series focused on explaining Section 702 and the need to reform it.
...

More (including reference links):

https://epic.org/epic-renews-call-f...isclosures-of-unlawful-fbi-backdoor-searches/