According to a court judgment published on Friday, FBI agents mistakenly searched international surveillance data for the last names of a U.S. senator and a state senator. The revelation might make it more difficult for the Biden administration to extend a significant spy program, which is already met with widespread bipartisan resistance in Congress.
According to the chief judge of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, another FBI agent wrongly requested the Social Security number of a state judge who had accused a local chief of police of violating his civil rights.
The Biden administration is having a hard time convincing Congress to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which permits spy agencies to gather vast amounts of emails and other communications. The news of the most recent transgressions comes at a bad time.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), has discovered that the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted four “Section 702” information queries into the individuals who allegedly committed civil rights violations, has documented the FBI’s improper use of surveillance powers on a judge, a state lawmaker, and a U.S. senator who shall remain nameless.
According to FBI officials, Section 702 enables them to spy on their “highest priority work,” such as threats from China, Russia, terrorism, and cybersecurity, without first obtaining a warrant. However, its usage as a “backdoor tool” for gathering data on Americans has raised serious concerns.
When Section 702 expires at the end of 2023, President Biden hopes that Congress will renew it. However, both Democrats and Republicans have stated they will not support any renewals without “significant reforms.”
“The FBI continues to break the rules put in place to protect Americans, running illegal searches on public officials including a U.S. senator, and it’s long past time for Congress to step in,” argued the deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)’s National Security Project, Patrick Toomey.
“As Congress debates reauthorizing Section 702, these opinions make clear why fundamental reforms are urgently needed,” Toomey added.
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