The US House of Representatives on Friday passed a billextending Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)- which was notoriouslyabusedso spy on the 2016 Trump campaign, and has been used for "backdoor searches" targeting Americans. Friday's vote - via unanimous consent after a longer five-year reauthorization pushed by Republicns failed to advance - extends Section 702 until April 30.

The short-term measure now moves to the Senate, which faces a looming deadline: the current authorization expires April 20.The vote comes despite a well-documented history of FISA abuses spanning both individualized Title I warrants and the bulk warrantless collection under Section 702, as detailed in multiple Department of Justice Inspector General reports, declassified Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) opinions, and congressional oversight findings.

President Donald Trump had urged Republicans to support a clean extension, citing the law’s critical role in national security whilepersonally recounting what he described as "the worst and most illegal abuse of FISA in our Nation’s History.”Trump referenced the FBI’s use of FISA during the Crossfire Hurricane investigation into his 2016 presidential campaign. At the same time, he stressed that the U.S. military "desperately needs” Section 702 to protect troops and diplomats, particularly amid ongoing operations against Iran’s nuclear program.

"With the ongoing successful Military activities against the Terrorist Iranian Regime, it is more important than ever that we remain vigilant, PROTECT our Homeland, Troops, and Diplomats stationed abroad,” Trump said. He added that generals he consulted called the authority "VITAL,” especially in the current geopolitical climate.

Heaven forbid he demand reforms and more oversight.

Section 702 permits the government to collect communications of non-U.S. persons located outside the United States without a warrant. However,it inevitably captures "incidental” communications involving American citizens, who can then be searched in the database through so-called "backdoor” queries- often without a warrant or probable cause. Critics on both sides of the aisle have long warned that the program effectively enables warrantless domestic surveillance.

FISA was enacted in 1978 in direct response to revelations from the Church Committee about executive-branch spying on civil-rights leaders, anti-war activists, and political opponents. Yetofficial records show recurring compliance failures and misuse in the decades since.

The highest-profile case of targeted surveillance involved Carter Page, a former Trump campaign foreign-policy adviser. A December 2019 DOJInspector General reportby Michael Horowitz identified17 significant inaccuracies and omissionsacross four FISA warrant applications and renewals. These included heavy reliance on the unverified Steele dossier - funded by the Clinton campaign and DNC - without disclosing its political origins, lack of corroboration, or exculpatory evidence (such as Page’s prior reporting as a CIA source). The FBI also failed to correct the record with the FISC.

FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith laterpleaded guiltyto altering an email to falsely claim Page was not a CIA source, helping secure a renewal. Special Counsel John Durham’s subsequent investigation further criticized the FBI’s predication and handling of the Russia probe. The DOJ later admitted in court filings that it lacked probable cause for at least some of the Page renewals. Recent 2026 disclosures by Sen. Chuck Grassley have raised similar questions about possible FISA surveillance of another Trump adviser, Walid Phares, involving the same FBI attorney.

These were not isolated. A 2002 FISC review found the FBI had included false or misleading statements in at least75 FISA applications, leading to the barring of a senior counterterrorism official from ever appearing before the court. A 2020IG auditof the FBI’s "Woods procedures” (accuracy-check protocols) examined 29 applications and foundapparent errors or inadequately supported facts in every oneof the 25 reviewed in detail.

Source: ZeroHedge News