Posted on 02/28/2020 7:30:07 AM PST by yesthatjallen
President Trump is threatening to blow up an extension of expiring intelligence programs as he backchannels with a cadre of top allies who want to use the bill to reform a shadowy surveillance court.
Congress has approximately 10 working days to reauthorize three expiring provisions of the USA Freedom Act, a 2015 bill that overhauled the country’s surveillance laws, with Attorney General William Barr and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) backing a “clean” extension.
But Trump threw a grenade into those already fragile plans Thursday, when Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) told reporters that the president supports his effort to include broader reforms of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) as part of any reauthorization of the intelligence programs.
“I’ve talked to the president, and I plan on insisting on getting a vote,” Paul said, asked by The Hill about including broader FISA reforms in a bill would authorize the expiring provisions of the USA Freedom Act.
Paul wants a vote on an amendment that would prevent FISA warrants from being used against Americans. Paul’s proposal would also prevent FISA information from being used against Americans in a domestic courtroom. The president, according to Paul, is supportive of his amendment.
SNIP
“If we don't fix FISA now, it will never be fixed,” said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.). “This is our opportunity. This is our chance.”
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
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"I do, I have plans to declassify and release [the infamous SpygateFISA docs]. I have plans to absolutely release".
Trump made that statement about one year ago in March 2019. To date we haven't seen a single word of said docs.
Seemingly Trump has no interest or commitment in releasing them.
FISA reform won’t change the extent of warrantless snooping one bit. All this maneuvering is window dressing.
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Agree. The “authorities” will do whatever they want to do regardless, secure in the knowledge that they will never
be held accountable.
The FBI used to be know as the “Untouchables”. Now we know they truly are.
Any more doubt now that Barr and McConnell are swampers?
Yep, it should be explicit law, not some agency rules to bend whichever way the wind blows.
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Explicit laws are useless. DC is a Justice Free Zone. Nothing will change that.
Word
Have no fear. The Qballs will be along shortly quoting quatrains worthy of Nostradamus and telling us to “trust Barr” and “trust the plan”.
L
Barr needs to go. He’s done enough recently to make anyone question his loyalty.
This is true to the extent that we're generally aware of. However, illegal surveillance is probably used much more than you can possibly imagine in secret to support investigations and gather 'evidence' that they will later claim came from another source. Anyone who believes otherwise is too naive to be let out in public unaccompanied by an adult.
I haven't read this act but whenever I see congress using a slogan to name a bill to hide what it really is, I assume it's bad and really the opposite of what they claim. The Affordable Care act would properly be called "the more expensive and harder to get, less choice act". Likewise I'm guessing this one had less to do with "freedom" and more to do with finding ways to spy on people including Americans. Certainly the FISA court has to go.
Personally I’d rather take my chances with terrorists than with the Deep State at this point.
How utterly convenient for the government. They create a situation that endangers Americans, and then use this endangerment to justify their continued spitting on the Constitution. Nice work if you can get it I suppose.
I keep hoping someone will do something.
Sometimes, in some cases, a Libertarian is more “Conservative” than many self-professed Conservatives, and certainly almost always more so than a bunch of RINOs.
Not only that, but his assistance was pro-bono. That's free of charge for those of you in Rio Linda.
> tying FISA reauthorization to coronavirus funding
The Grinch had a wonderful, awful idea!
Praying for a miracle here.
People, write to Mitch asap!
Why do you think the President is stupid.
Your post implies presidential stupidity. Anti President Trump is Anti America
“...our politicians and civil servants are incapable of doing the right thing.”
Problem I have is without any investigative format to make illegalities illegal by surveillance and investigation, we’re right back where we started with no threat to those politicians and civil servants we can’t trust. What needs to happen is do the investigations on all that need it and bring down the hammer. The main thing you can trust is those people you don’t trust much worse as without the FISA court there is no way to catch them. Open season.
rwood
Just completely eliminate it...IMHO...
“....incapable of doing the right thing.”
With nothing to oversee anything, it can get worse.
I was civil service for 12 years and saw a lot of things working my job for the Pentagon that qualified for more than questionable. But you can’t throw the baby out with the bath water.
rwood
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