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Report: The FBI used the Foreign Espionage Act to spy on thousands of Americans

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In any normal world that exists in reality and common sense, FBI Director Christopher Wray would be sweating bullets, and the criminal organization he runs would be dissolving. But we don’t live in that space, do we? So instead, the FBI keeps getting caught in the act, violating Americans’ constitutional rights without any consequences.

The latest revelation to make headlines is that the FBI spied on Americans using a law that allows them to spy on foreigners. Usually this kind of drop is old news, but what makes it interesting and important are the particular Americans the FBI was targeting.

The FBI used FISA to spy on Americans who may have been involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and the protests that followed the killing of George Floyd.

They do what they want

A report has emerged that says the FBI used the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, to try to ‘find foreign connections’ to alleged January 6 participants with little or no supporting evidence. of its use. This included searching their email accounts for any foreign government influence, with, you guessed it, nothing to back up the searches.

Gosh, if memory serves, there’s a big no-no somewhere in the Constitution. Interestingly, the report also states that similar activities were carried out by our nation’s premier law enforcement agency on George Floyd protesters – although it’s unclear if the agency used FISA. on demonstrators or counter-demonstrators.

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Of course, whichever way you slice it, the government shouldn’t use FISA to unfairly spy on citizens, regardless of their stance on politically and socially charged issues. The Fourth Amendment is not concerned with victims. Yet, suppose it turns out the FBI was using it against counter-protesters. In this case, the FBI has become a political weapon against the right.

Add to the above two breathtaking revelations; the FBI also used FISA to search the communications of more than 19,000 donors to an anonymous congressional campaign and 400 defense contractors and security clearance holders despite lack of evidence of influence from a foreign power. The truth is, we gave the FBI that capability on a silver platter.

Go ahead, do what you want

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) allows the government to target foreign nationals located overseas who are suspected foreign agents or members of international terrorist groups. Born out of the War on Terror, this law is often touted as the reason the United States has not suffered a 9/11 attack since its inception.

By law, the FBI can seek information about Americans without obtaining a warrant; it seems legit; I mean, by no means is that cry “abuse me!” But do not worry ; the FBI has already made adjustments, and we should relax about all this spying nonsense.

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A senior FBI official said:

“We don’t try to hide from this stuff. This kind of non-compliance is unacceptable, and that’s why we’ve put these reforms in place to prevent it from happening.

Well, I feel better already, don’t you? The FBI isn’t trying to hide from “that stuff” because they don’t have to.

Like Teflon, they can withstand reports of abuse year after year, decade after decade, and remain our brilliant lawman on the hill – ready to spy, investigate, and detain us with little or no oversight.

Checks and balances?

The report that exposed these transgressions comes from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, or FISA Court as it is known, set up by the Supreme Court to oversee the use of FISA. Like anything that would be of great interest to the American public, the tribunal operates mostly under a thick veil of secrecy.

The FISA Court appears free from political influence; after all, it operates outside the executive branch. However, once their opinion is complete, it is forwarded to the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence for declassification.

And that’s how we end up with a 127 pages report on allegedly inappropriate searches that count up to 278,000 times and are so heavily redacted that it is unclear who was violated and why. How very convenient.

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It should be noted that FISA is due to expire at the end of this year, and some lawmakers say they will not vote to renew the Foreign Surveillance Act.

Republican Senator Mike Lee said:

“You can tell your department, not a chance in hell, we’re going to reauthorize this thing without some major reforms.”

Not so fast, Mike; Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said of FISA that it is:

“of particular importance as it equips our national security community and our combatants with irreplaceable intelligence to wage the war on terrorism.”

‘Cause we won this war, oh wait a minute…

bad press

This latest report follows two FBI whistleblowers testifying that the Biden administration used the Capitol riot cases to exaggerate the threat of domestic terrorism. These same two whistleblowers recently had their security clearances revoked.

But of course keep telling us the FBI is unarmed. Moreover, the recently abandoned and highly anticipated Durham report showed many harm linked to the FBI’s overreliance on the Steele dossier, funded by everyone’s favorite recurring presidential candidate.

While welcome and necessary, recent hearings on FBI weaponization are unlikely to show tangible benefits.

Jim Jordan, Republican Congressman said:

“If you’re not politically correct…you don’t agree with what they think is the political position or the proper position, you’re the target.”

Well said, and if you think the FBI is the only government agency targeting citizens based on their political biases, you would be terribly wrong. Across the aisle, MP Stacey Plaskett said:

“This select committee is a clearinghouse for testing conspiracy theories that Donald Trump will use in his 2024 presidential campaign.”

You mean all those conspiracy theories that ended up being true?

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