A Republican senator criticized a possible proposal tying Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act reauthorization to multibillion-dollar emergency funding to combat the coronavirus.
Sen. Ted Cruz, a member of the judiciary and commerce panels, cast such “rumors” as an indicator that Congress is on its way to renewing key parts of the surveillance law without sufficient consideration for reform, highlighting a split between the GOP and Attorney General William Barr, who has asked for a clean reauthorization.
“Hearing rumors that the swamp is trying to tie long-term FISA reauthorization to emergency funding to fight the #CoronaVirus,” the Texas Republican tweeted Monday night. “This should not happen. FISA process was abused to spy on @realDonaldTrump. We need real reform, not political games.”
Republican allies of President Trump have demanded FISA reform after Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz released a report in December that criticized the DOJ and the FBI for at least 17 “significant errors and omissions” related to the FISA surveillance of Trump campaign associate Carter Page, a U.S. citizen who was never charged with wrongdoing, and its heavy reliance on British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s salacious and unverified dossier.
With FISA authorities, including roving wiretap powers, the business records provision, and the “lone wolf” amendment, set to sunset on March 15 if not reauthorized, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are considering reforms to the law that determines the procedures for electronic and physical surveillance for counterintelligence or anti-terrorism investigations.
At a private meeting with Senate Republicans last Tuesday, Barr advocated for the extension of soon-to-expire surveillance law provisions and time to implement his own internal reforms aimed at stopping surveillance abuses against American citizens. Barr said his desire for a “clean” reauthorization was supported by the intelligence community, the National Security Council, and the FBI, although the White House Domestic Policy Council was reportedly not on board.
“The attorney general just wanted to underscore the importance of these provisions that were enacted in the wake of the 9/11 attacks,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said after the meeting. “They are still relevant to our efforts to go after terrorists today, just like they were after 9/11.”
Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham said Barr “made a commitment to make sure that what happened in 2016 — that internally he’s going to clean up that mess.” The South Carolina Republican added: “You’ve got three provisions to deal with. I think it’d be smart to keep them in place. It would give us some time to work on FISA writ large.”
But in the days since, there has been pushback by some Republicans, and Trump and Barr are set to meet with some of the biggest GOP advocates for FISA reform, including Utah Sen. Mike Lee and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, on Tuesday, according to the Wall Street Journal. Both Republicans have raised concerns about government “spying” on U.S. citizens.
There is talk on Capitol Hill about attaching FISA renewal to the estimated $7.5 billion coronavirus emergency supplemental bill, which is expected to pass the House.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby suggested to Fox News on Monday that he was not against the idea. “It’s not a poison pill if it moves,” the Alabama Republican said.
Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, the committee’s ranking member, said, “Oh, God, no!” to the idea. Leahy said he wanted the coronavirus legislation to be “clean” and “the people who want to do FISA could have finished it last year.”
Trump’s new nominee for director of national intelligence, Rep. John Ratcliffe, weighed in last week at the Conservative Political Action Conference, noting that “there was illegal surveillance” of Trump. But the Texas Republican defended the value of the surveillance law used to root out terrorists and spies.
Ratcliffe said it “serves our country well and saves lives” while arguing it needed fixes. He said it wasn’t enough to defend the DOJ and FBI: “You have to defend the values behind the institutions.”
Other Republicans in the House said FISA reform was imperative.
“We are right in the middle of reauthorizing the FISA process,” North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows said. “Shame on any member of Congress or senator, including Republicans, if we reauthorize it without reforming it.”
Rep. Doug Collins, the ranking member of the judiciary panel, said he was “not going to approve anything unless we get some FISA changes.”
The Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee struck a similar tone.
“Nope, I don’t want to do it — not without major reforms,” New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler told CNN when asked if he’d support a short-term FISA reauthorization.
The House Judiciary Committee suspended a markup session for FISA reform legislation last week after Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren offered five amendments that her Democratic colleagues considered to be “poison pills” that would hinder negotiations.
“If we don’t take this opportunity to reform the FISA process, we are missing an opportunity,” the California Democrat said, according to Politico.
Although the deadline is March 15, because it is a Saturday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said FISA reauthorization needs to happen by March 12, before Congress leaves town.
“The goal is to have the right balance between civil liberties and national security,” the California Democrat said. “It’s really important that we pass the FISA bill.”
