May 27, 2020
SCRAP THE WHOLE REGIME:
Kevin McCarthy asks Dems to pull FISA bill (MELANIE ZANONA, HEATHER CAYGLE and JOHN BRESNAHAN, 05/26/2020, Politico)
The abrupt collapse of FISA talks was exacerbated by a late-developing rift among Democrats as well. The House reached an apparent breakthrough last week when Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) secured a vote on an amendment intended to ban the government from accessing the web browsing history of Ameircans using a provision of FISA. Lofgren's amendment, introduced with Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), closely mirrored language that failed by a single vote in the Senate earlier this month, offered by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).But a change negotiated by Lofgren and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff appeared to rankle Wyden. Just hours after he praised the apparent agreement in the House, Wyden lashed out at Schiff in a statement, accusing him of undermining the original language of his proposal and calling on lawmakers to reject it -- as well as the entire FISA reauthorization. It's unclear why Wyden viewed Schiff's changes as a non-starter."It is now clear that there is no agreement with the House Intelligence Committee to enact true protections for Americans' rights against dragnet collection of online activity," Wyden said in a statement.Schiff indicated in an earlier statement that his talks with Lofgren produced "an agreement on modifications" to the Wyden proposal, which was also bipartisan. The language limited Wyden's proposed protections to "U.S. persons," which aides indicated would ensure the FBI could continue to collect web browsing information from foreign targets, such as terrorists or intelligence agents.The FISA debate has also created a rift in the GOP conference -- and those divisions were on full display during a private call between Republican leaders and ranking committee members on Tuesday.Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who helped negotiate the initial FISA deal, voiced his support for the bill and pointed out that the president wants reforms, according to sources on the call. Trump and his allies allege that the FBI used the law to improperly monitor figures in his campaign amid an investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.But GOP Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) pushed back, saying she disagreed with Jordan, and outlined her reasons why. She argued that the amended bill would undermine national security, create red tape at the FISA courts and wouldn't have protected the president.
There ought be no restrictions on such intelligence collection abroad. It implicates no constitutional principle.
Posted by Orrin Judd at May 27, 2020 12:00 AM
