FISA Passages Empowered Authoritarians Within US Government
Despite vigorous opposition by a stalwart group of conservatives against the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), the controversial measure squeezed through the U.S. House last week.
No one should mistake opposition to FISA as constituted with lack of concern for national security. But several Republicans insisted on safeguards for American citizens against warrantless domestic spying, something that goes hand-in-hand with national security and freedom.
But the effort ultimately was in vain, and Washington may continue its practice of monitoring law-abiding U.S. citizens without what many believe to be proper precautions.
Warrants are not a throwaway segment of the legal code that can or should be easily ignored. Rather, they are an integral facet of the Constitution’s protections of upstanding citizens from government overreach.
And then there’s the purchasing of U.S. citizens’ data from information brokers.
Everything we as Americans do online or in apps is fair game for this industry. Companies sweep up this data, filter it for specific actions and trends, and then sell it to the highest bidder.
Who will outbid the federal government, which prints and borrows anything it decides it needs?
The lack of the most basic protections of requiring a warrant and prohibiting Washington from using taxpayer dollars to spy on those very same taxpayers continues to anger conservatives. Many focused their displeasure on House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).
One leading GOP lawmaker, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), threatened to travel to Republican districts of those who supported FISA to campaign against them. He classified every GOP member who sided with the program as the “deciding vote.”
Gaetz declared his deep frustration with the Speaker.
He explained, “We’re very disappointed that when we sent Mike Johnson away from the Judiciary Committee, he departed from some of the views that he held deeply. We made Mike Johnson Speaker so that the Speakership would be more like Mike Johnson.”
Instead, Gaetz observed, Johnson transformed into a caricature of former Speakers.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) noted that Johnson greatly damaged his standing with House conservatives. “He lost a lot of capital with that vote.”
