FreedomWorks Reacts to FISA Rule Failure

Washington, D.C. – Following the failure of the House to pass a rule vote on FISA Section 702 reauthorization, Adam Brandon, FreedomWorks president, commented:

“The failure of the rule vote further obfuscates an already opaque situation with FISA Section 702 reauthorization. What passes, if anything, is up to anyone’s guess at this point. But there are a few certainties I want to make explicitly clear.”

“First, Chair of the House Intelligence Committee Mike Turner lied to the House Rules Committee yesterday. He repeated the line that they are already required to get a warrant to target an American. Yes, that is true but intentionally deceptive. He failed to disclose that they do not need a warrant to conduct ‘queries’ of Americans in the 702 database. The FBI conducted more than 200,000 such queries in 2022. Mike Turner knows the difference between ‘targeting’ and conducting ‘queries.’”

“As for the other Mike, Speaker Mike Johnson has no problem putting his thumb on the scales in favor of the Intelligence Community. A position that not only backfired but betrayed the principles for which he stood as a Member of the House Judiciary Committee. It’s another referendum on his feckless leadership as Speaker.”

“Our position at FreedomWorks hasn’t changed. We support reauthorizing Section 702, but there must be significant reforms to protect Americans’ civil liberties. We demand a warrant requirement to conduct queries of Americans. We demand guardrails in place to prevent authorities from circumventing the Fourth Amendment by purchasing Americans’ information from third-party data brokers. Without those protections, we are resolutely and unequivocally a NO on reauthorization.”

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FreedomWorks exists to mobilize the principled center and politically homeless in America who do not feel their values of fiscal responsibility, social tolerance, and individual liberty are being represented in political discourse today. We seek to restore common sense and competence to public policy and American political life.