Speaker Mike Johnson Claims Classified Briefing Made Him Flip-Flop on Spy Powers Reform

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Wednesday explained his apparent flip-flop on a controversial surveillance law, saying that he now favors limited reforms after receiving a classified briefing.

Speaker Johnson was asked by reporters why he changed his opinion on reforming Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a controversial surveillance law that is meant to target foreign adversaries, but often surveils Americans’ communications without a warrant.

Johnson this week came out against a warrant requirement for Section 702 and moved not to allow an amendment that would have barred intelligence and law enforcement agencies from purchasing Americans’ private information through third-party data brokers. This is considered a run around the Fourth Amendment protection against warrantless searches.

Inside Baseball Stuff on FISA 702 Reauthorization – The Stuff You Never See Explained

April 10, 2024 | Sundance | 224 Comments

Before getting into bigger picture analysis and intellectual discussion about FISA and the 702 reauthorizations, let me just reveal some inside DC crap that drives me nuts and at the same time will help y’all understand the nonsense.

First, the Intelligence Community (IC) tells congress, particularly the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, that all hell will break loose if they don’t reauthorize full electronic surveillance of Americans. Congress is petrified of the IC.

Speaker Johnson and all of the key participants are totally siloed from understanding that 702 has nothing to do with incidental collection of American data whilst the honorable IC were doing foreign intercepts. Johnson and most Republicans believe the IC nonsense. They really do.

The politicians and their key staff cannot fathom how the FBI, DOJ, NSD, DHS and contractors use this database to conduct political and “other” (think corporate espionage for sale) surveillance. They really do think the IC is full of honorable rank-and-file. They are inside a DC bubble.

Second, the IC argument is now something akin to we have let thousands of terrorists into the country through the southern border crisis.

They say: “My god, we need to monitor the terrorists, and if you take away 702 the foreign terror cells will activate and start killing us all. Do you want that blood on your hands?” You cannot take away surveillance tools.

Third, FISA 702 reauthorization is used as a bargaining chip by people who don’t want to get caught up in the surveillance.

The DC conversations are something like,

“Ok, we’ll reauthorize it, but you cannot use it against us – and all the sex parties and perverted stuff we do when no one is around, you must promise to keep our secrets hidden“…

Yes, this is why the IC agree to accept a reauthorization that exempts Congress. The IC keep the blackmail – just promise not to use it.

We The People do not have any friends in DC on this issue. The Democrats will reauthorize 702 to continue exploiting surveillance authority – don’t forget over 10,000 log-in portals with access to the NSA database exist, including the workstation at Perkins Coie that ties into the NSA database {GO DEEP}.

President Trump finally opposes the FISA system – writ large – and THAT is progress.

More soon….

House Speaker Mike Johnson

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