This week, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., showcased a resolution “expressing the sense of Congress that the authorities under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) should be allowed to expire at the end of the year.”
Gaetz’s office offered some of the reasons why the congressman is championing the resolution.
“Section 702 of FISA, which has permitted the warrantless surveillance of Americans since being enacted in 2008, will expire on December 31st, 2023. According to an unsealed FISA Court decision, the FBI has routinely abused Section 702 authorities, including over 278,000 times, surveilling left-wing domestic groups, such as Black Lives Matter and George Floyd rioters, Americans present at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, and donors to congressional campaigns. Absent Section 702, genuine law enforcement and foreign surveillance can still be carried out under traditional FISA and federal wiretap laws,” Gaetz’s office noted.
“The persistent abuse of Section 702 of FISA underscores the disturbing trend of our federal government being weaponized against its people. The blatant misuse of warrantless surveillance powers targeting Americans’ communications should not be accepted or reauthorized. We must uphold national security without sacrificing the constitutional rights of our fellow Americans,” Gaetz said.
U.S. Reps. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., are backing the resolution.
