Conservatives are banding together to urge Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) against rushing through a reauthorization of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) without measures to protect American citizens from a weaponized Deep State.
The alliance of conservative heavyweights demands “real reform” to FISA, specifically requesting Johnson allow votes on two amendments to require the government to obtain warrants or court orders to query the data of an American citizen and prevent the government from exploiting constitutional loopholes by purchasing the data of American citizens from third party brokers.
“As we have seen over and over again, the FISA process has been abused and politically weaponized in intolerable ways, including as a means to spy on President Trump’s campaign, thereby setting up the ‘Russia collusion’ scandal,” the group wrote to Johnson. “This is to say nothing of the millions of normal American citizens – including Members of Congress and state officials – whose phone calls, emails, social media posts, and so forth are obtained by the federal government under the FISA process without a warrant.”
The letter is signed by twenty prominent leaders inside the conservative movement, including Kenneth Blackwell, former Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), and David Bossie.
The House Rules Committee – which sets the parameters for the debate of legislation on the House floor, including which amendment votes may be allowed – meets Wednesday afternoon on the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act, a FISA reauthorization that lacks many reforms sought by conservatives and privacy advocates.
The committee hearing to set the table for a FISA reauthorization vote as soon as this week has mobilized FISA skeptics across the ideological spectrum.
Skeptics’ fears were amplified this week after news spread that the House would hold an incredibly rare “secret session” the same week it would consider FISA reform.
After Breitbart News published an article on the secret session, a spokesman for Johnson told Breitbart the secret session has nothing to do with reauthorizing FISA and there are no plans for any executive or secret session to deal with FISA.
However, groups desiring substantive changes to FISA remain skeptical of the process to rush through a reauthorization.
At the heart of the concerns of FISA skeptics is the controversial Section 702, which allows intelligence services to conduct surveillance activities on foreigners but has been subject to charges of widespread abuse, including those outlined in the conservatives’ letter.
That program initially was set to expire at the end of 2023. Congress attempted to reauthorize FISA in December, but ultimately it was extended until April 19, 2023, by inclusion in the unrelated National Defense Authorization Act.
The conservatives signing the letter are urging the Speaker – who holds significant sway over the Rules Committee – to allow votes on the Judiciary Committee’s warrant amendment, authored by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), and the Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act by Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH). Biggs and Davidson have been leaders within Congress advocating for reforms to FISA.
The reforms the letter’s authors advocate could significantly alleviate the fears of an American public skeptical of the intelligence community, derisively called “the Deep State” with increasing regularity. Alternatively, failing to act could further delegitimize those institutions and the Congress which enabled them.
As the leader reads, “Failing to reform FISA in the face of these scandals would be an unconscionable failure for a Republican House majority.”
The full list of the signatories is below:
- The Honorable J. Kenneth Blackwell, Chairman, Conservative Action Project, Chairman, CNP Action, Inc.
- The Honorable Jim DeMint, Chairman, Conservative Partnership Institute, Member, U.S. Senate (SC 2005-2013)
- Ed Corrigan, Vice Chairman, Conservative Action Project, President & CEO, Conservative Partnership Institute
- The Honorable Tony Perkins, President, Family Research Council
- Jenny Beth Martin, Chairman, Tea Party Patriots Citizen Fund
- David N. Bossie, President, Citizens United
- L. Brent Bozell III, Founder and President, Media Research Center
- The Honorable Brooke Rollins, President and CEO, America First Policy Institute (AFPI)
- The Honorable Bob McEwen, U.S. House of Representatives, Former Member, Ohio
- Thomas E. McClusky, Principal, Greenlight Strategies, LLC
- Kelly J. Shackelford, Esq., President and CEO, First Liberty Institute
- Mike Berry, General Counsel and Director of External Affairs, First Liberty Institute
- Cleta Mitchell, Esq., Senior Legal Fellow, Conservative Partnership Institute
- Wesley Denton, Chief Operating Officer, Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI)
- Chad Connelly, Founder and President, Faith Wins
- Bob Carlstrom, President, AMAC Action
- Myron Ebell, Chairman, American Lands Council
- Lori Roman, President, ACRU Action Fund
- David Bozell, President, ForAmerica
- Alfred S. Regnery, President, Republic Book Publishers
Bradley Jaye is a Capitol Hill Correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter at @BradleyAJaye.
