Here Is a Republican Lie About FISA That You’ll Hear a Lot

A provision in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) that allows US intelligence agencies to spy on targets abroad without first obtaining a warrant is about to expire for the first time ever, and Republicans can’t stop lying about why that is.

Before we get to that, here is a bit of background: Historically, this provision, which is commonly known as “Section 702,” has been extended with bipartisan support whenever it was about to lapse because lawmakers believe that the law’s benefits outweigh its drawbacks.

That doesn’t mean that Section 702 isn’t controversial. In fact, both Republicans and Democrats, as well as privacy advocates, want to add safeguards to the law to protect the communications of American citizens, which are sometimes swept up as US intelligence agencies surveil foreigners.

They are concerned that FISA could also be used to spy on citizens. This is also why Section 702 isn’t a permanent government power but rather one that has to be renewed from time to time.

And it was widely expected that this would happen once again before the provision expires on Friday.

However, the House on Thursday rejected a bill that would have extended Section 702 until the beginning of July. All but seven Democrats, as well as 19 Republicans, voted against this short-term fix.

Here is where it gets interesting: GOP leaders are blaming Democrats for allowing Section 702 to expire and suggest that they are endangering national security by opposing the provision’s extension.

“They are willing to jeopardize the safety and the security of the American people to make a cheap political point,” stated House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who called the Democrats “detestable” and said he “pray[ed] that we do not have a serious calamity on our shores.”

Let’s break that down.

First of all, the fact that Section 702 is about to expire doesn’t mean that the intelligence services will no longer enjoy the surveillance tools it provides. That’s because the special FISA court has already certified their use until March of next year.

That’s the first lie.

The second one is about who is to blame for this mess.

Congress was on track to once again extend Section 702 with bipartisan support before Donald Trump nominated Bill Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to serve as the acting director of national intelligence (DNI).

First of all, the law states that anybody nominated to serve in that position “shall have extensive national security expertise.” Pulte has none. Zero. Zilch.

Now, anybody who wants to quibble about such things could argue that he is not being nominated but rather appointed as an interim agency head. Then again, why split hairs over something as vital as national security?

The bigger problem is that Pulte is a partisan hack with a clear record of trying to weaponize the power of the government against Trump’s political opponents.

In his current job, that means sifting through the mortgage applications of the president’s adversaries and trying to (unsuccessfully) get them convicted for fraud.

As DNI, however, he would have vast powers to go after anybody critical of Trump and his administration.

In other words, why would they give Pulte continued use of a weapon that he will try to turn against them?

Hilariously, if Trump had waited a few more days before he made the appointment, the Section 702 extension would already have passed. But, once again, the president, who his supporters claim to be a master at playing 4D chess and always ten steps ahead of everybody else, screwed things up for himself.

So, if you are looking for someone to blame (and we are not saying that Section 702 should be extended without reforms), look no further than the White House.