The federal government has a massive surveillance apparatus at its disposal, and many of these tools have been used to spy on American citizens.
Intelligence agencies are being weaponized against President-elect Donald Trump, pro-life activists, and parents on school boards. The Trump administration now has an opportunity to cripple the surveillance state by curbing some of its most invasive spying tools.
FISA Section 702
One of the most controversial national security tools is Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows warrantless surveillance of American citizens. Congress voted to reauthorize Section 702 without reforms in 2023, but faced backlash from advocates when the House voted to block Section 702 reauthorization in April 2024.
Conservative scrutiny of FISA has increased since the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) approved spying warrants against former Trump campaign aide Carter Page in 2016 and 2017.
Although Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and some in the intelligence community have argued that Section 702 is a necessary measure, the law is ripe for abuse and allows for warrantless spying on American citizens. Some argue that it does. (Related article: Kash Patel wants the FBI to step back from spying — this is a good place to start)
In fact, 2023 FISA court documents revealed that the FBI “improperly conducted 278,000 warrantless searches” against American citizens. According to to the Wall Street Journal.
FISA Section 702 allows the FBI to spy on U.S. citizens more than 278,000 times without a warrant.
FISA should not be combined with our nation's national defense, and it is unacceptable that the D.C. Cartel is sabotaging its members by forcing them to vote on two items in defiance of normal orders. pic.twitter.com/FtUTP4z9L1
— Matt Rosendale (@RepRosendale) December 14, 2023
Ironically, FISA was born in 1975. church committee, Investigated allegations of abuse of FBI and CIA surveillance powers.
According to the Constitution Center, as a result of the 1976 report, Congress passed the FISA Act of 1978, which authorized the NSA to work with the FISC to monitor American citizens and foreign nationals.
Update on President Obama's Executive Order 12333
President Ronald Reagan implemented Executive Order 12333 in 1981, which strengthened intelligence agencies' surveillance powers. This law is the basis for the NSA's collection of “external signals information.” According to Go to the agency's website.
However, the latest information from the Obama administration significantly expands intelligence agencies' access to Americans' personal information. new york times reported In 2017, President Obama expanded the NSA's ability to share “globally intercepted private communications” with other intelligence agencies, including the FBI.
Before the update, the NSA only shared information it considered relevant. Other intelligence agencies can now comb through the raw database of communications intercepted by the NSA, the Times noted. (Related: The Deep State Should Receive a Lump of Coal This Christmas Morning)
FBI whistleblowers previously told Caller about the law's potential dangers and argued that President Obama's update should be repealed.
facial recognition technology
Government Accountability Office (GAO) in December report It revealed that law enforcement agencies within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are “using detection and surveillance technology without a warrant.”
The report said DHS used more than 20 different technologies during fiscal year 2023, including facial recognition.
The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is experimenting with facial recognition for identification at airports across the country. signboard At the airport, TSA claims that facial recognition technology is optional and that photos are “deleted after identity verification.”
However, the TSA's website states that “photos will not be saved or stored” “except in limited testing environments.”
A TSA official said: Next government/FCW The test environment “refers to two- to four-week blocks in several specific locations during which TSA collects data for submission to the DHS Science and Technology Directorate” and is for quality control purposes, it said.
TSA is scanning passengers' faces.
This is not required. You can also refuse.
Let your family and friends know that if they ask you to take a photo, they can say no.
If a TSA officer tells you otherwise, ask for a supervisor. pic.twitter.com/AYnmhWhDpg
— Brianna Morello (@BreannaMorello) March 2, 2024
In May, a bipartisan group of senators sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and then-Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell stating that the TSA's facial recognition technology poses a “grave threat to civil liberties.” It called for restrictions.
The letter quotes TSA Administrator David Pekoske at the South by Southwest conference in April 2023, saying: biometric authentication Eventually it will become mandatory.
TSA Quiet Sky Program
Whistleblowers claimed in August that Tulsi Gabbard, President Trump's nominee for director of national intelligence (DNI), was placed on the TSA's terrorist suspect watch list, known as “Quiet Skies.”
The whistleblowers claimed that Gabbard was being monitored by the TSA and the Federal Air Marshals Service (FAM). A group called Empower Oversight represents The whistleblowers sent a letter to DHS IG Joseph Cuffarri after learning that TSA had opened a “leak” investigation against the FAM whistleblower.
The Quiet Skies program is a tool FAM uses for “travelers who may pose an increased risk to aviation safety.” According to Go to the TSA website. (Related: Deep state officials opposed to Tulsi Gabbard's nomination have close ties to defense contractors and censorship tools)
Gabbard told Matt Taibbi. racket news She and her husband underwent a “random” mass screening at the airport, and their boarding passes had “SSSS” (Second Security Screening Selection) designations. Taibi said SSSS usually indicates that a traveler is on a threat list.
Taibbi noted that the program was expanded to track individuals who were at the Capitol after January 6, 2021.
CNN's Dana Bash promised me and the American people that she would “definitely follow up” on my addition to the secret terrorist watchlist “Quiet Skies.” She never reported on this political retaliation by the Harris administration. Because that would completely weaken them… pic.twitter.com/iseBok04pu
— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) November 4, 2024
2018 Boston Globe Awards investigation exposed the program with reference to TSA documents that revealed that there were approximately 40 to 50 Quiet Skies passengers per day on domestic flights. The report added that air marshals monitored about 35 of them.
President Trump has an opportunity to reform the intelligence state in 2025, after the Biden-Harris administration spent four years weaponizing government agencies against political opponents. Gabbard and some of Trump's nominees may be open to reform. Kash Patel opposes the weaponization of the surveillance state.
Gabbard is be considered According to CNN's Katie Beau Liss, Patel, the most “outspoken anti-surveillance official” likely to lead the DNI and Trump's nominee for FBI director, has been instrumental in uncovering FBI surveillance of the Trump campaign. Contributed.
