Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz on Friday continued his criticism of an attempt to sabotage a bipartisan reform of a controversial surveillance law that was once used to smear the Trump campaign.
In an email to constituents, the Fort Walton Beach Republican recalled how a vaguely worded, undefined “threat” to national security prompted the GOP-led House to shelve a vote to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance Act, or FISA.
As the Tampa Free Press reported last week, Gaetz slammed Republican Rep. Mike Turner, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, for gaslighting the country with his cryptic claim for President Joe Biden to declassify an intelligence report about the alleged threat. Additional media reporting revealed that Turner was apparently referring to a supposed effort by Russia to develop its space-based nuclear capability.
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Gaetz noted at the time, the supposed threat was no different than past intel reports he had been privy to. On Friday, he explained why Turner and others in the House who back him may be sounding this particular bell.
FISA Section 702 authorizes electronic surveillance of foreign individuals without a search warrant, but since former President Donald Trump came to prominence, the FBI has tapped that part of the law to spy on Americans by citing dubious connections with foreigners.
Specifically, the FBI cited the info it received from the Russia collusion hoax to obtain authority to spy on Trump campaign officials such as Paul Manafort, Carter Page, and George Papadopoulos.
Gaetz noted under FBI practices used against Trump, Section 702 has become “an end-around on the Fourth Amendment.” Last week House leadership was set to allow a vote backed by GOP conservatives and some left-wing Democrats to force the FBI to get a warrant prior to spying on Americans.
Then Turner melted down.
“With the prospect of representatives siding with the majority of Americans who are in favor of a warrant requirement, [Turner] took unprecedented and reckless action to ensure government agents can continue their unconstitutional surveillance,” Gaetz said in his email.
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The House GOP leadership responded by yanking the reform bill from consideration.
“There is nothing in the classified information that I reviewed that scares me more than the intelligence on the threats posed by our open southern border,” Gaetz wrote. “ I believe the timing of this ‘threat’ is suspicious because Chairman Turner is all about reauthorizing FISA section 702 without the necessary reforms to protect the rights of Americans.”
“It appears it was a calculated move, leveraging fear to subvert critical FISA section 702 reform, specifically the need for a warrant requirement to protect the privacy of American citizens,” Gaetz continued.
“In my seven years serving in the House and on the House Armed Services Committee, I have never seen such an extreme attempt to scare the American people and members of Congress.”
The congressman noted Turner’s “manufactured urgent threat” has forced lawmakers into a “binary” choice: either accept and continue FISA as is, with its warrantless-search capabilities intact, or face another 9/11-style tragedy.
“This false dichotomy ignores the fact that we can both uphold our Constitution and protect our nation from foreign attacks at the same time,” said Gaetz. ‘House leadership should not continue to allow the Intelligence Committee to have a veto over protecting the Fourth Amendment rights of Americans.”
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