Watching the Watcher: The Daily Caller on DOJ’s Slow Walk of the Release of FBI Section 702 Abuses

FBI Director Kash Patel

​Emily Kopp of the Daily Caller writes that “FISA Section 702 targets foreign nationals, but it also hoovers up the communications of Americans when they’re on the other end of the text thread or email chain. The FBI can peer into its classified mass surveillance database for dirt on Americans without ever asking a judge for a warrant.”

Kopp reports:

“Some Members of Congress and the corporate media frequently cite the intelligence community’s claim that Section 702 informs 50-70% of items in the President’s Daily Brief, while never specifying how much of this intelligence requires warrantless spying on Americans.”

The article quotes PPSA General Counsel Gene Schaerr:

“What the ‘intel bros’ constantly do is conflate the use of Section 702 to surveil foreigners with the use of Section 702 to surveil Americans. They’re constantly playing this game of flimflam. Nobody disagrees that Section 702 is really important. The question is why do you need to surveil Americans? They never even try to make the case.”

Kopp’s reporting raises a point that should be top of mind when Congress once again considers reauthorizing Section 702.

“A recent court filing revealed the FBI holds 39,650 records that may shed light on the frequency of abuse. But the Department of Justice (DOJ) won’t release even a tiny fraction until August – by which time it’s likely the Bureau’s spooks will have already secured an extension of the program.

“The scale of the FBI’s snooping is unknown. But it’s clear that any American can fall into the FBI’s dragnet, even the president, Schaerr points out.”

Kopp also reports that Members of Congress have read a March legal opinion from the FISC, revealing routine abuses of Americans’ constitutional rights. The ruling remains classified, but press reports indicate that it sharply criticized a filter on the mass surveillance database that underreports searches of Americans’ information.
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Read Kopp’s Daily Caller piece here.

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