President Donald Trump pleaded with House Republicans this week to extend a section of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
In the wee hours of Friday morning, a dozen GOP members voted with Democrats to reject the president’s plea.
According toThe Hill, 12 Republicans joined with nearly all Democrats to defeat a deal — hammered out behind closed doors — that would have extended the federal government’s warrantless surveillance powers for another five years.
Then, moments later, a procedural vote to advance an 18-month reauthorization of FISA Section 702 also failed when 20 Republicans joined with all but four Democrats to defeat it.
In the end, the House voted by unanimous consent to extend by 10 days the deadline for reauthorizing the program. That vote, which took place shortly after 2 a.m., prevented the program’s authorization from expiring on Monday. Instead — assuming the Senate agrees to the extension on Friday — Congress will now have until April 30 to reauthorize.
FISA Section 702allows the intelligence community to spy on foreigners outside the United States without securing a warrant for the specific target and “with the compelled assistance of electronic communication service providers,” according to theOffice of the Director of National Intelligence.
As ODNI admitted, however, “it is possible that a foreign person who has been targeted under Section 702 may communicate with, or discuss information concerning, a U.S. person.”
Civil libertarians, therefore, regard FISA 702 as a violation of theFourth Amendment, which prohibits “unreasonable searches and seizures.”
“[N]o Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized,” theamendmentstates.
Under FISA 702, however, the intelligence agencies enjoy blanket authorization, constrained by some mitigation procedures, to conduct warrantless searches.
Source: VidNews » Feed
