Free Republic

Just when President Trump removed one thumb from the eye of Senate Republicans — scrapping his $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization fund" — he put another right back in with his choice of Bill Pulte as director of national intelligence. Why it matters: This time, the stakes are even higher: Democrats are threatening to let the government's spy powers lapse next week unless Trump yanks the appointment. State of play: Democratic outrage over Trump's latest moves usually doesn't amount to much. But Republicans need at least eight Democratic votes in the Senate to prevent the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Section 702 from...

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) lambasted Democrats for suggesting that President Trump’s appointment of Bill Pulte to be acting director of national intelligence could imperil reauthorization of the nation’s foreign spy powers that are due to expire next week. Johnson said in a press conference Wednesday that it is “absolutely outrageous” that Democrats are suggesting that they would withhold their votes “because of an interim appointment that is the president’s choice to do.” “It is the most important intelligence tool that we have,” Johnson said of the foreign spy powers. “The idea that they would try to play politics right...

Last week, the Department of Justice announced that former FBI director James B. Comey has been again indicted by a Federal Grand Jury, this time in the Eastern District of North Carolina. The criminal offenses charged against Comey are precise and limited; two counts of threating harm to the President. They involve his posting of images of seashells arranged as “86 47.” 86 being slang for kill and Trump being the 47th president. Kash Patel, the current FBI director, commented that Comey “disgracefully encouraged a threat on President Trump’s life and posted it on Instagram for the world to see.”...

We're not quite to the ultimate goal yet, but the momentum is there to get the employees of the DHS back to receiving their paychecks. On Wednesday, the House passed a procedural vote on funding for the Department of Homeland Security and FISA along party lines, after removing a third component of the package: House Republican leaders on Wednesday cleared a major hurdle when they corralled members into adopting a rule to tee up consideration of two major pieces of legislation: reauthorization of the nation’s foreign spy powers and a budget blueprint to fund immigration enforcement. The House voted 216-210...

For Immediate Release April 23, 2026 Contact Boebert.Press@mail.house.govRepresentatives Massie, Boebert Introduce Surveillance Accountability Act to Protect Americans from Warrantless Government Spying Washington, D.C.-- Today, Rep. Lauren Boebert (CO-04) and Rep. Thomas Massie (KY-04) introduced the Surveillance Accountability Act, landmark legislation that would require federal and local government agencies to obtain a warrant supported by probable cause before conducting surveillance on American citizens, in accordance with the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The legislation comes in response to the widespread use of warrantless surveillance technologies by government agencies, including facial recognition systems, automated license plate readers, and commercially purchased location...

Tensions are continuing to rise inside the House GOP Conference as Republican leaders race to land a backup plan in the coming hours to reauthorize a controversial spy powers program. Speaker Mike Johnson said in an interview Wednesday afternoon that he’s “targeting tomorrow” for release of an updated proposal for extending Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. “It’s coming along well.” It comes as Senate Majority Leader John Thune warned Wednesday that the House would need to file the bill by the end of this week to give his chamber time to act on the legislation ahead of...

@nicksortor JUST IN—IT’S OFFICIAL: Conservatives have BLOCKED an attempt to RAM THROUGH a 5 year extension of FISA in the dead of night, extending it by only 2 weeks @timburchett, @laurenboebert, and @RepThomasMassie are out here celebrating a win against the deep state

WASHINGTON, April 13, 2026 – A federal authority that allows U.S. intelligence officials to spy on the communications of foreign nationals is set to expire April 20. Lawmakers remain divided over whether, and how, to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows U.S. intelligence agencies to collect communications from non-U.S. persons located abroad, often with the assistance of American telecom and technology companies. Nearly a dozen House Republicans have opposed a clean extension of the law, with some calling for stricter warrant requirements before agencies can access Americans’ data. American’s emails, texts, or calls can be...

A law that became the subject of scrutiny following surveillance on 2016 Trump campaign aide Carter Page is up for renewal with an April 20 deadline, and the debate is creating unusual battle lines. The debate centers on whether reforms should be made to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Section 702, or if there should be a “clean” extension of the law. FISA allows for the federal government to gather foreign intelligence, but some critics have warned that it opens the door for Americans to be spied on in the process. President Donald Trump is asking for a “clean...

Anewly released document from Sen. Chuck Grassley adds a significant and troubling dimension to what was previously known about the conduct of former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith, a central figure in the surveillance of Trump campaign associates during the Russia collusion investigation. Clinesmith had already pleaded guilty to falsifying evidence in connection with a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant targeting Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. The new information shows that his misconduct was not limited to a single target, but was part of a broader, systematic pattern of abuse that extended to another investigation against Trump adviser Walid Phares. Phares,...

Litigation brought by a key figure in the Russiagate scandal has quietly reached the Supreme Court, giving the nation’s nine justices a chance to weigh in on an investigation that has become a symbol of law-enforcement and intelligence abuses during the Obama-Biden era. Carter Page, an energy consultant who briefly served as a foreign policy adviser to President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, became the subject of an FBI counterintelligence investigation into possible Russian election interference known as Crossfire Hurricane. In 2020, Page filed a federal lawsuit seeking damages from then-FBI Director James Comey and other former officials, including former Deputy...

Jennifer Daskal, a Biden administration official who helped launch the short-lived Disinformation Governance Board, has been appointed as an advisor to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA) as of Feb. 1. Daskal will serve as amicus curiae, meaning “friend of the court,” and will advise judges on “legal issues related to foreign surveillance warrants in national security cases,” according to the Washington Free Beacon. Daskal is best known for her involvement in the Biden-era Disinformation Governance Board, for which she drafted the character. Daskal reportedly helped select Nina Jankowicz to serve as the board’s director. Jankowicz, you’ll recall, is the...

Democrats Biden Official Who Created ‘Disinformation’ Board Appointed as FISA Court Adviser, Sparking Concern From Republican Senators Jennifer Daskal helped select the board's controversial director, Nina Jankowicz, and will now advise judges on foreign surveillance legal issues Jennifer Daskal (flickr.com/photos/newamerica/39221031875) Chuck Ross February 17, 2026 A Biden administration official who launched the Disinformation Governance Board and served as co-chair of the so-called Ministry of Truth has been appointed to advise the powerful Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, prompting concerns from some Republican lawmakers. The presiding judges of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review appointed Jennifer...

Two Detroit men have been charged for defrauding the higher education system in Federal Student Aid, announced United States Attorney Jerome Gorgon.The first complaint charges Brandon Robinson, 41, of Detroit with wire fraud related to false Federal Student Aid claims submitted in the names of other individuals. Between January 2015 and February 2024, Robinson submitted fraudulent FSA claims for more than 1200 individuals, involving over 100 schools in 24 states. Robinson caused over $16 million in FSA benefits to be awarded, with more than $10M disbursed. Additionally, the complaint alleges that Robinson also filed over 100 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims...

There’s a reason why the J6 Committee deleted the records of their activity, an angle missed by most. When you understand what they hid and why they did it, you then understand why current Speaker of The House Mike Johnson will not go near the subject. The J6 Committee used interfaces with the NSA database and pre-existing portals with aligned DHS Social Media databases (including Twitter, see prior “Twitter Files”), as research and evidence gathering mechanisms for their investigations. The J6 targets were identified through a collaboration between the legislative research group and the FBI. [That’s unlawful by the way...

WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today is making public the formerly Classified Appendix (“Durham annex”) to John Durham’s 2023 Special Counsel report. The Unclassified Report and the Classified Appendix form the entirety of Durham’s Special Counsel Report. The Durham annex contains previously classified information exposing a reported Clinton campaign plan to falsely tie President Donald Trump to Russia. The annex also goes into further detail on matters discussed in the Unclassified Report, specifically: Potential election influence by a foreign government regarding Hillary Clinton; False statements to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA court) regarding FISA renewal...

DOJ has declassified key new documents detailing how the Comey FBI and Peter Strzok ignored a major national security breach by Hillary Clinton they should have thoroughly investigated as part of a counterintelligence case, but they went after Donald Trump instead ... When are you going to get off this ignoring stuff? Steele was paid by FBI simultaneously as he was being paid by Clinton. You can do the math. They set Steele up inside Clinton campaign. He was using Danchenko as a cutout. Clinton put him there through Strobe Talbott, another name you are omitting from this that should...

The nation's spy court has quietly approved a Justice Department request to review information tied to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants that targeted former Trump campaign associate Carter Page as FBI Director Kash Patel seeks to hand over more Russiagate evidence to Congress. At the behest of President Donald Trump, Patel already declassified a host of documents tied to the bureau's deeply flawed and politically-motivated Trump-Russia inquiry known as "Crossfire Hurricane" back in April. The DOJ’s filings with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court show that the FBI is looking to hand over further information about the Crossfire Hurricane...

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley released some of the FBI investigative files related to a congressional referral of Nellie Ohr for false testimony to congress. Within the Grassley release the declassified FBI investigative notes show that Trump-Russia files were compartmentalized, allowing control over access to them by the FBI Director and FBI Deputy Director. The 7th floor level classification within the FBI’s Sentinel record-keeping system was previously unknown, and now people are starting to ask questions about what other information may be filed yet invisible due to the classification designation of “Prohibited Access.” The Sentinel record-keeping system allows FBI officials...

In this explosive House Judiciary Committee hearing, Chairman Jim Jordan grills legal experts and witnesses over Judge Boasberg’s controversial role in high-profile Trump cases. From his decisions on FISA warrants to the "turn the plane around" order involving violent criminals, critics argue Judge Boasberg shows clear bias and should recuse himself from upcoming Trump-related cases. Former Speaker Newt Gingrich calls out a "coup" against the American people, slamming illegal actions by government agencies and suggesting Congress must act — through legislation, oversight, and the power of the purse — to restore the rule of law.