FBI Surveillance Tool Receives Bipartisan Backlash 

Criticism of the FBI has been on the rise among conservatives lately amid allegations that the bureau has attempted to shield President Joe Biden from scrutiny of his foreign financial entanglements.

There is room for left-wing backlash, too, as evidenced by recent remarks from Senate Judiciary Committee Dick Durbin (D-IL).

He took aim at a specific intelligence tool intended to collect evidence about foreign adversaries. Instead, Durbin argued that Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act had been improperly used to spy on Americans. 

As lawmakers prepare to vote on whether to extend the program, it continues to face bipartisan backlash and widespread unpopularity among the general public. 

For his part, the Illinois Democrat expressed outrage over reports that Section 702 had been cited as the justification for surveilling more than 19,000 campaign donors.

“Since the last reauthorization of Section 702, many violations of the constitutional, statutory, and court-imposed restrictions on 702 have come to light,” he said on Tuesday. He was particularly incensed over evidence that the Justice Department used the FISA database to gather information about 133 individuals during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.

“These searches have affected all manner of Americans, such as individuals listed in police homicide reports, including victims, next of kin, and witnesses,” Durbin declared.

According to the language used in the creation of Section 702, it is only supposed to be used to spy on foreign citizens living abroad who might have relevant intelligence information. Nevertheless, recent reports indicate that the FBI had used the program’s resources roughly 278,000 times for purposes other than that narrow application.

Reports indicate that of the nearly 20,000 campaign donors surveilled, only eight technically qualified as legitimate targets.

As Section 702 faces an expiration date at the end of this year, plenty of Republicans are also adamant that it should not be extended. In the House of Representatives, a group of Republicans — including House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) — are reportedly leaning toward allowing the entire program to end.

Without directly expressing his intention, Jordan said: “We’re working on the kind of reforms we think need to happen, but frankly I think you should have to go get a warrant.”