The House Freedom Caucus is pressing GOP lawmakers to reform the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act before Section 702 of the law expires on June 12, with HFC Chairman Andy Harris urging colleagues to “end the surveillance state.”
Harris obtained a new video – released exclusively through the Daily Caller – that lays out HFC’s non-negotiables for any FISA reauthorization. Top of the list: a warrant requirement before federal agencies can search Americans’ communications collected under Section 702.
“We don’t want Big Brother controlling our cars, tracking our money or spying on every corner of our lives. This is America, not some communist surveillance state,” Harris said.
Section 702 grants the federal government authority to warrantlessly surveil foreigners abroad. In practice, communications from Americans get swept up when those foreigners talk to U.S. citizens – a process known as “incidental collection.” Harris argues that loophole has been abused.
“If they can spy on a member of Congress, they can spy on you,” Harris said.
The Carter Page case anchors HFC’s argument. Four FISA warrants were obtained against the former Trump campaign adviser between October 2016 and June 2017. Those warrants were later determined to be erroneous, and Page reached a settlement with the Department of Justice in April.
Harris pointed to additional categories of Americans targeted by warrantless FISA queries – journalists, protestors, judges, and members of Congress. He also cited a Biden administration figure of nearly 3 million warrantless surveillance searches on Americans, drawn from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s 2022 annual statistical transparency report.
ACCORDING TO HARRIS, NEARLY 3 MILLION WARRANTLESS FISA QUERIES WERE RUN ON AMERICANS DURING THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION.
HFC’s push follows a 45-day FISA extension Congress passed in April. That short-term patch was framed at the time as a bridge to a full reform debate – the debate now reaching the House floor.
“The deep state better buckle up,” Harris said. “The gloves are coming off.”
“Our privacy is not negotiable.”
