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A key US spy tool will lapse at year's end unless Congress and the White House can cut a deal
nbcwashington ^ | Nov 15, 2023 | By Eric Tucker | The Associated Press

Posted on 11/21/2023 8:36:33 PM PST by 11th_VA

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To: thegagline; Theoria
The current Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (warrantless searches etc.) was signed into law by Trump.

Current law is the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, as amended.

Trump signed the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017. Your statement, as phrased, is incorrect. Section 702 was enacted as part of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (FAA) and most recently reauthorized by the FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017.

Trump did not sign the current FISA Act of 1978, but an Amendment to that Act.

Section 702 is codified at 50 U.S.C. 1881a, procedures for targeting certain persons outside the United States other than United States persons.

https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/statement-president-fisa-amendments-reauthorization-act-2017/

Statement by the President on FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017

FOREIGN POLICY

Issued on: January 19, 2018

Today, I signed into law S. 139, “FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017” (the “Act”). The Act reauthorizes Title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act until December 31, 2023, and makes a number of amendments to current law. Section 702 of Title VII allows the Intelligence Community, under a robust regime of oversight by all three branches of Government, to collect critical intelligence on international terrorists, weapons proliferators, and other important foreign intelligence targets located outside the United States.

This intelligence is vital to keeping the Nation safe. As shown by the recent attacks in New York City and elsewhere around the globe, we face a constant threat from foreign terrorist networks and other foreign actors who would do us harm. In order to detect and prevent attacks before they happen, we must be able to intercept the communications of foreign targets who are reasonably believed to possess foreign intelligence information. Section 702 provides the necessary authority, and it has proven to be among the Nation’s most effective foreign intelligence tools. It has enabled our Intelligence Community to disrupt numerous plots against our citizens at home and our warfighters abroad, and it has unquestionably saved American lives. The Act I have signed today preserves and extends this critically important national security tool.

Section 702 provides robust privacy protections for American citizens, and most importantly prohibits the Government from using it to target Americans and persons located in the United States. Only foreigners located abroad may be targeted for surveillance under section 702. While every court to have considered section 702 has found it to be legal and consistent with the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, the Act establishes additional procedures to further protect the privacy of Americans whose communications are incidentally collected under section 702. Among these is a new requirement that in a predicated criminal investigation — an investigation with an elevated factual foundation — the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) apply for and obtain an order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court before accessing the contents of section 702 — acquired communications that were retrieved using certain United States person “query” terms. By applying this provision only to certain queries in investigations unrelated to national security, the Act preserves the FBI’s ability to “connect the dots” and look for national security-related threats, especially during the critical pre-investigation phase when it often does not yet have enough information to know whether a suspected threat relates to national security. Although the Fourth Amendment does not require a court order to query information lawfully collected under section 702 — information already lawfully in the Government’s possession — this new procedure, along with the Act’s other oversight and transparency requirements, provides further privacy safeguards, while preserving the operational effectiveness of our foreign intelligence collection efforts.

I would have preferred a permanent reauthorization of Title VII to protect the safety and security of the Nation. By signing this Act today, however, I am ensuring that this lawful and essential intelligence program will continue to protect Americans for at least the next 6 years. We cannot let our guard down in the face of foreign threats to our safety, our freedom, and our way of life.

DONALD J. TRUMP

THE WHITE HOUSE,

January 19, 2018.


21 posted on 11/22/2023 3:14:58 AM PST by woodpusher
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To: PGR88

This is when I knew then-Rep. (and House committee chair) Devin Nunes was full of crap. He’d run around making appearances on Sunday TV talk shows complaining about the FISA warrant abuses against the Trump family … and then show up in Congress on Monday morning calling on Republicans to re-authorize the government’s FISA surveillance authority.


22 posted on 11/22/2023 3:18:51 AM PST by Alberta's Child (If something in government doesn’t make sense, you can be sure it makes dollars.)
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To: 11th_VA

Frankly, I am against most of the FISA as updated and administered by the secret FISC. It has mainly been used to spy on Americans for reasons other than communication with foreign nationals, IMO and more of a government political tool to go after those Americans not considered friendly to the administration. Let it lapse. ICs are no better than any other part of LE. If they have reason to believe something funny is going on then fully document it and get a warrant.


23 posted on 11/22/2023 3:19:57 AM PST by Gaffer
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To: kvanbrunt2

Remember a guy named Steele and his ‘dossier?’ Government used MSM stories about this ‘dossier’ instantiated by Hillary to go after FISC warrants against Trump and Russia, Russia, Russia.

They were supposed to come back to FISC with more proof after 90 days but only offered up rehashed stories from MSM as the ‘proof.’


24 posted on 11/22/2023 3:24:14 AM PST by Gaffer
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To: 11th_VA

I’m old enough to remember when reporters were 100% against spying on Americans. But then Obama happened…


25 posted on 11/22/2023 3:29:16 AM PST by Behind Liberal Lines
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To: 11th_VA

Haha!
Republican... a Trump supporter
Democrat... a staunch supporter of civil liberty
Republican... a Trump supporter


26 posted on 11/22/2023 4:03:16 AM PST by Hatteras
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To: 11th_VA

This is just more smoke being blown up our a$$€$.

The nsa has a HUGE data center in Colorado that records EVERYTHING and they look at what they want, when they want to. And take it from there.


27 posted on 11/22/2023 4:08:46 AM PST by mabarker1 ( (Congress- the opposite of PROGRESS!!! A fraud, a hypocrite, a liar. I'm a member of Congress!!!)
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To: All

“Nobody better **** with a Biden.”

On Fox News, Biden’s Director of the Air Marshals National Council said Air Marshalls are quietly following Americans who flew into the DC area around Jan 6, 2021.

Vengeful Biden’s TSA has now ordered Air Marshals who are DOT employes w/ no L/E duties:
<><>to follow J6 people who have not had any type of criminal investigation –
<><>they haven’t committed a crime,
<><>there is no evidence their J6 attendance was illegal,
<><>now three years later Biden insists they are to be followed 24/7.

The Fox News host weighed in, “You’re saying Air Marshals aren’t…tracking terrorists at all?”


HAMAS is laughing so hard they’re rolling on the floor while planning their next moves in the US...


28 posted on 11/22/2023 6:01:37 AM PST by Liz (Women have tremendous power — their femininity, because men can't do without it. Sidney Sheldon)
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To: 11th_VA

Forget all the hi tech stuff. Just reauthorize Fang Fang. You know it hasn’t stopped.


29 posted on 11/22/2023 6:25:56 AM PST by freefdny
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To: 11th_VA
"...the Biden administration is running out of time to win the reauthorization of a spy program it says is vital to preventing terrorism, catching spies and disrupting cyberattacks angry mothers from questioning schools boards, arresting legally demonstrating Americans and disrupting Republican presidential candidates election efforts."

There, fixed it.

30 posted on 11/22/2023 6:32:45 AM PST by moovova ("The NEXT election is the most important election of our lifetimes!“ LOL...)
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To: woodpusher

Correct, President Trump shimmed an amendment.

He also supported a permanent reauthorization of Title VII of FISA.

One wonders if he still holds that position given all that has happened in the last several years.


31 posted on 11/22/2023 6:52:03 AM PST by Fury
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To: Candor7
I think the law should require a warrant when a US citizen is the subject,

I believe a Sec. 702 thing does require some kind of warrant, but it certainly has been abused. back in 2015 and 2016, DNC and FBI simply used "contractors" (Democrat Party insiders) with access to the system to spy on Trump for them.

I will defer to anyone who has deep legal knowledge of Sec 702 law and can correct me.

32 posted on 11/22/2023 7:11:16 AM PST by PGR88
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To: Liz

HAMAS is laughing so hard they’re rolling on the floor while planning their next moves in the US...

Indeed Biden and party gut bucket in never full enough for them.


33 posted on 11/22/2023 8:18:10 AM PST by Vaduz (....)
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