The federal government’s powers in the intelligence field have grown too large. The public is angered by people such as Andrew McCabe, the former FBI deputy director. We saw his employment end in termination without prosecution. At the same time others, such as former Michael Flynn, are enduring persecution.
The allegations against both men are a violation of the same law.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) has a controversial past. Its passage came in 1978. Consideration of the measure should have ended right there. The stated purpose of FISA is to provide secret judicial review. The review was of the government intelligence surveillance of foreign agents in the United States. That was the camel’s nose under the tent.
Since then things have gotten out of control. The governmental claim is FISA has been effective. But it is secret, so, at this point who cares what the government claims. There is no verification and none is possible under the existing law. The government asserts: FISA is one of the principal means for stopping and thwarting spies’ and terrorists’. That, as they say in court, assumes facts, not in evidence which is but part of the problem.
FISA = political abuse
FISA’s recent fame has nothing to do with spies and terrorists. Rather, it has to do with abuse of power at the highest level of American government. FISA provided the legal framework by which the FBI and CIA abused their powers. Enough said, that alone makes the legislation too dangerous to our lives and liberties to leave in place. Repeal it, kill it, and let it die. It must end. FISA is abuse of the constitution.
Its recent notorious use was to spy on the 2016 Trump campaign. But it did not end there. It was also used to spy on the incoming president’s 2017 transition. If the bureaucrats of the American government feel entitled to do this, what can use of FISA hold for our future? The civil service must die along with FISA. No one should be able to work for the federal government for more than 6 years.
The actions of government bureaucrats, detailed in Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report, were the worst abuse of power, by government employees in the history of the Republic. They have created an urgent need to reform the FISA. We must prevent such abuses from happening again.
On March 15, action on three important parts of FISA was kicked down the road. Some libertarians are demanding a repeal of the law rather than renewal. Some, such as House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler and committee member Zoe Lofgren are delaying reauthorization to rewrite the law extensively.
How the system is still broken
Under FISA federal judges sit to grant or deny FISA surveillance warrants. This mixes national security policy with judicial decision-making. Courts should not be in the position of making intelligence policy. Judges should apply the law, not make policy. Those are statements of fact about the operation of FISA.
Something we know is FISA is has been abused. The Fourth and Fifth Amendment protections it is supposed to be providing, it is not. The counter-intelligence mission should be transferred to the intelligence agencies. Those agencies should receive greater regulation and oversight.
The intelligence community (IC) should not have the legal authority to secretly intercept emails, cell phone conversations, and text messages. We have a legal system that works. If they need those things, that’s why we have warrants. They should apply for search warrants to do so from federal judges.
Congressional oversight has proven itself a completely incapable tool for control of the intelligence community. When people such as Rep. Adam Schiff hold the reins of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, they perform only partisan political investigations. They have shown no interest in reining in unlawful exercises of intelligence and counterintelligence. FISA is an abuse of the constitution.
Congress should end FISA not tinker with it
Congress could take strong measures to prevent the IC from obtaining surveillance warrants from the FISA court based on false information. It will not do so. Experience teaches us this. To do so, FISA would require a massive rewrite.
Congress could specifically to require the FISA court to hold an evidentiary hearing on every application for a surveillance warrant. But if you have the same bad actors, working together, in the same system… What’s the point? Adding an administrative step to a system without accountability now accomplishes what?
Sure the purpose of the hearing would receive new definition in the new law. Yes, it would be to examine the basis for the application. Okay, you can require the Judge to determine whether the applying agency has independently verification of the information presented as cause for the warrant. So what, that’s just changing the names on the existing responsibility. FISA is abuse of the constitution.
FISA is a corrupt cottage industry
Supporters assert the FISA court could ensure against intelligence agencies relying solely on unverified information. But they don’t and we know that. This is precisely what they did in seeking four successive FISA warrants against Carter Page. The use of those warrants was to spy on the Trump campaign.
It’s past time for change to America’s approach to the constitution, intelligence, law enforcement and justice. It is time to get back to basics. It is time for a smaller government. Let’s repeal the Income Tax. Require Balanced Budgets. It is time for that smaller government to protect the rights of all Americans.
Nearly everything else the government does save defense and trade is fluff and should be jettisoned… right along with FISA and the Patriot Act. Past performance is not a guarantee of future actions… But commonsense says if they did if once and got away with it, they are going to do it again.