Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has pushed for FISA reforms. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)“We’re not a rubberstamp for the House of Representatives,” Lee said. “We’re certainly not a rubber stamp for the Deep State.”
On Monday, McConnell killed a procedural vote on the House FISA bill and teed up debate on a package of amendments from Lee and Paul, among others.
“We shouldn’t have to wait until the moment when we’re on the eve of the expiration of some important legislation and where we have to wait for the president of the United States to weigh in and lean in,” Lee said. “From time to time, laws require revision and review and reform. That always necessarily requires amendments.”
Added Paul: “They can do it the easy way or the hard way. The easy way is that they allow debate.”
FISA COURT ORDERS REFORMS — BUT LEAVES OUT KEY MYSTERY PLAYER
The House legislation updates the three expiring surveillance provisions, including one that permits the FBI to obtain court orders to collect business records on subjects in national security investigations. Another, known as the “roving wiretap” provision, permits surveillance on subjects even after they’ve changed phones. The third allows agents to monitor subjects who don’t have ties to international terrorism organizations.
“We’re certainly not a rubber stamp for the Deep State.”
The House legislation, passed Wednesday, is a compromise that reflects angst in both parties about the way the surveillance powers have been used, but also a reluctance to strip those powers from the government’s arsenal. Republicans and Democrats in the House broadly agreed that they did not want civil liberties sacrificed in efforts to thwart terrorism and other crimes.
In addition, Republicans had been aggressively seeking changes to the law since the Justice Department’s investigation into Trump’s campaign and Russia, while many Democrats already had concerns about government surveillance.
At the behest of those Republicans, the House compromise takes aim at some of the missteps the Justice Department has acknowledged making during the Russia investigation. Applications under FISA to eavesdrop on a former Trump campaign aide were riddled with omissions and missteps, according to a scathing inspector general report.
The measure would require that officers responsible for FISA applications certify that the department has been advised of any information that could undercut or contradict the premise of the surveillance.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, successfully secured a deal for debate on FISA amendments. (AP)In the Russia investigation, some of the information the FBI omitted from its applications cut against the idea that former Trump adviser Carter Page was a Russian agent, the watchdog found. In one case, an FBI lawyer falsified an email from the CIA that was later submitted to the FISA court, making Page’s contacts with Russians seem unreported and nefarious.
Page has denied that and was never charged with wrongdoing.
The bill also would institute criminal penalties and other sanctions for making false statements to the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which issues warrants to the FBI to eavesdrop on people it has probable cause to believe are agents of a foreign power. It would require the attorney general to approve in writing of an investigation if the target of the surveillance is a federal candidate or official.
Attorney General William Barr was involved in the negotiations with the White House and Congress, and he said Wednesday that he supports the bill.
“It is of the utmost important that the Department’s attorneys and investigators always work in a manner consistent with the highest professional standards, and this overall package will help ensure the integrity of the FISA process and protect against future abuses going forward,” Barr said.
But Barr’s support does not guarantee that Trump is on board. The president kept Congress guessing with a Thursday tweet that did not indicate how he would act.
“Many Republican Senators want me to Veto the FISA Bill until we find out what led to, and happened with, the illegal attempted “coup” of the duly elected President of the United States, and others!,” Trump tweeted, referring to the FBI’s Russia investigation.
Fox News’ Chad Pergram and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Original Article : HERE ;
from MetNews https://metnews.pw/senate-approves-temporary-fisa-reauthorization-as-trump-floats-veto-and-lawmakers-vow-amendments/
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