Tag: Section 702

Assistant Secretary of State Calls FISA Abuses ‘Disturbing’ but Says Program Should Continue

Assistant Secretary of State Brett Holmgren said on May 30 that abuses of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) are “disturbing,” but he said the program should continue. Holmgren, who oversees the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), emphasized the national security and diplomatic uses of 702, downplaying abuses. “Today…


FBI Again Promises to Stop Unjustly Searching NSA Data on Americans

After a recently unsealed court opinion censuring the FBI for impermissibly searching sprawling NSA databases for information on Americans, the bureau has again vowed to fix itself. The FBI has for years promised to address the issue, but the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), which oversees the use of the intelligence databases, has repeatedly found…


Over 10,000 FBI Agents Can Access Data From Secretive Surveillance Program: Inspectors General

Lawmakers were told by U.S. inspectors general that upward of 10,000 federal employees could have access to data revealed by a secretive government surveillance program that has been racked by controversy over its alleged abuses. At an April 27 House Judiciary subcommittee hearing, lawmakers heard from a panel of three witnesses associated with the U.S….


House Intel Republicans to Probe ‘Egregious’ FISA Abuses Allegedly Used to Illegally Spy on Americans

Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee have formed a working group to investigate “egregious abuses” of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) which has allegedly been used to illegally spy on millions of Americans. The group will be led by Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Ill.), a congressman who claims to have been one of over 3.3…


LIVE NOW: Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen on the Reauthorization of FISA Section 702

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) is practical to the Intelligence Community yet becoming more controversial. It will expire on Dec. 31, 2023, if Congress does not reauthorize it. Can this administration get it reauthorized by the current Republican-dominated Congress? What would happen if 702 expired? Is it even necessary in a…


Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen on the Reauthorization of FISA Section 702

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) is practical to the Intelligence Community yet becoming more controversial. It will expire on Dec. 31, 2023, if Congress does not reauthorize it. Can this administration get it reauthorized by the current Republican-dominated Congress? What would happen if 702 expired? Is it even necessary in a…