The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act gets a do-over vote in the House on Monday thanks to a Hail Mary maneuver by Florida Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R).
Controversy always attaches itself to the reauthorization of this bill because it legalizes the wiretapping of American citizens. Yes, there are allegedly safeguards in place to ensure the Fourth Amendment is observed and our rights protected, but the history of FISA is one of abuse. During Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, we saw FISA weaponized as a tool to spy on Candidate Trump and, later, President-Elect Trump and his transition team.
3.4 million warrantless searches of Americans' private communications.
278,000 improper searches on American citizens.
19,000 improper searches of donors to a congressional candidate.
There is no shortage of spying authority abuses by the weaponized FBI. Get a warrant. #FISA pic.twitter.com/sQUfmHqtbo
— Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) April 10, 2024
Arizona Republican Andy Biggs offered an amendment to the bill that would require a warrant before an American citizen could be placed under surveillance.
After the bill passed the House, Luna moved to reconsider, that is, to take another vote on the bill. Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner immediately moved to table her motion.
Luna’s motion to reconsider is up for a vote today, and there are many reasons to think this may not be a simple repetition of Friday’s vote.
The fight for taking down the unconstitutional FISA is not over. There is another vote on Monday! I have sent this letter to all Republicans, and we are sending it to all Democrats. We need 218 to stand with us against the unconstitutional surveillance of Americans. pic.twitter.com/TKe59Rvf8d
— Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) April 13, 2024
First, a lot of Republicans will have heard from constituents by now. I really doubt any of them heard, “Thanks for letting the feds spy on me without a warrant.” Second, 13 members did not vote. We know at least one of those will be back in the House today and voting in favor of Luna’s motion.
I am very disappointed that I was unable to be in Washington, D.C. today due to having the flu. Had I been able to vote, I would not have supported today’s FISA reauthorization without protections against warrantless searches of U.S. citizens’ communications in the Foreign…
— Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (@RepDLesko) April 12, 2024
On the other hand, Leviathan had a near-death experience, and they will use every means at their disposal to change votes. Attorney General Merrick Garland and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan called individual members before last week’s vote. I can see DOJ functionaries calling members today to remind them of information they’d rather not be made public.
Despite Speaker Johnson’s, I think, credulous acceptance of the FBI’s narrative that this law is critical to national security and they have to be able to ignore the Constitution to make it work, to date, the FBI has not made an empirical public case to show that the law does anything more than allow the FBI to snoop on Americans under the pretense of surveilling foreign intelligence targets.
Luna’s motion is a long shot, but so was Biggs’s amendment. That said, there remains a chance to rewrite FISA to comply with the Constitution.