FreedomWorks President Adam Brandon on Tuesday warned congressional leaders against using the “specter” of a government shutdown to reauthorize deep state spy powers.
After Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) pulled a bill to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (FISA), reports suggested the next possible move by the establishment to reauthorize the controversial surveillance law would be to insert it into a government funding bill, and the government will partially shut down by the end of the week if Congress fails to pass a spending bill. It also has to pass other appropriations bills by March 8 to avoid a partial or even a total government shutdown.
“As if the Intelligence Committee Chairman’s phony threat of Russian space nukes wasn’t enough to dissuade Congressional leadership from trying to pull a fast one on us, here they go again,” Brandon said, referring to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner’s (R-OH) controversial “political stunt” of overhyping a reported Russian threat.
Section 702 is a law that allows intelligence agencies to collect communications of targeted foreigners. It also may lead to targeted surveillance of Americans’ private communications, which privacy advocates consider a run around the Fourth Amendment’s requirement for a warrant.
Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good (R-VA) and Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) have called for Turner’s ouster over this.
Brandon continued, “That’s right, they’re using the backdoor to reauthorize a backdoor into our private lives. Talk about life imitating art! Look, all we’re asking for is the proper debate on the House floor and an up or down vote on extremely popular privacy measures.”
The FreedomWorks president cited a poll commissioned by the conservative activist organization and progressive group Demand Progress, which found that 76 percent of Americans believe that government agencies such as the FBI should obtain a warrant before searching communications of Americans.
“If instead leadership rams this reauthorization into must-pass funding legislation, we will Key Vote NO and count the vote on our 2024 Scorecard for such a spineless maneuver,” Brandon concluded.
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
