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The “under penalty of perjury” was put in there to sell the American people and interested illegal aliens that FISA was necessary to prevent another 911 - that the government with its secret courts and secret agency actions never to see the light of day would protect us ... it was going to allow our protectors to get the terrorists before they could fly another jet into our buildings. ROFLMAO.

Now these same people want to take away your 1st, 2nd and a few other Amendment rights to protect us even more!

FISA was passed in the wake of the Keith case, formally United States v. U.S. District Court, 407 U.S. 297 (1972)

The underlying event was bombing of a CIA office. The fact that the government had conducted surveillance without a warrant complicated the government's case.

Within this opinion are a few items worth noting. Two in particular:

SCOTUS suggested Congress create a FISA court
The fourth amendment is not violated if the government snoops without a warrant, for foreign intelligence purposes

Since FISA was passed in 1978, no FISA warrant has even been used in a criminal case. The entire FISA system is make-work for the purpose of fooling the public into believing snooping is effectively regulated by court oversight.

FISA creates a crime for activity SCOTUS views as a constitutional prerogative of the president. There is a good argument that the statute is unconstitutional because it criminalizes constitutionally-protected conduct.

Application for any federal search warrant, not just FISA search warrant, is “under penalty of perjury”.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/956521/download