Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) on Friday criticized House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-Ariz.) for overexaggerating the Russian threat as conservatives seek to curb “warrantless government surveillance.” Ohio State) was asked to be fired.
“Chairman Mike Turner should lose his job this week for political inaction. His baffling comments caused a market crash and caused unnecessary panic. This stunt is a sign that warrantless government surveillance It conveniently took place during a week I wanted to rein in,” Biggs wrote Friday morning while sharing a video of an interview on former Trump strategist Steve Bannon’s show.
Speaker Mike Turner should lose his job this week for political inaction.
His incomprehensible statements caused a market crash and caused unnecessary panic.
The stunt conveniently occurred during a week when the state wanted to curtail warrantless government surveillance. pic.twitter.com/9bMdYbXIcM
— Rep. Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) February 16, 2024
Republicans were furious after the chairman of the Intelligence Committee publicly sounded the alarm about the alleged threat from Russia, a move that left conservatives with no choice but to pass aid to Ukraine or curb government oversight. Many believe it is a ploy to either block the initiative.
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) called for an investigation into Turner’s controversial plan in a letter Thursday to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana).
Ogles writes:
In retrospect, the goal was not to ensure the safety of the homeland and the American people, but rather to secure additional funding for Ukraine and the passage of an unreformed Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). It became clear.
This action constitutes, at the very least, a misjudgment and, at most, a complete breach of trust influenced by the pursuit of a political agenda.
“[S]If you remain in office, you have a duty to reassure this agency and the American people that the Intelligence Committee process is not corrupted by the very agency you are tasked with overseeing. There is an obligation,” Ogles added.
Wednesday’s Rules Committee hearing revealed that reformers are winning the battle, with conservatives following the defeat of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Section 702 reform and reauthorization bill. was furious. Biggs is the sponsor of a bill backed by privacy advocates, the Protecting Freedoms and Eliminating Warrantless Surveillance Act.
said Elizabeth Goitein, co-director of the Freedom and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. I have written“HPSCI” [House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence] Leaders have been waging a propaganda campaign all week to try to block this and other reforms, without success. They saw the writing on the wall. In HPSCI’s view, if a member does not vote with respect to Section 702 in the manner directed by HPSCI, he should not be given the right to vote at all. ”
“Just as we were winning the debate over the domestic spying warrant requirement in the FISA 702 reauthorization, the Speaker withdrew the bill and sent the rest of Congress to a halt this week,” said Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.). Canceled,” he wrote.
“The fact that the Intel Committee skipped the Rules Committee, realized that it had lost the argument, and pouted in a manner that forced the Chairman to rescind the FISA compromise was an absolutely outrageous act. I’ve never seen anything like this,” one Republican aide told Breitbart News.
A source told The Daily Beast, “Jordan and Nadler made a presentation to the rules committee. The Intel committee didn’t even show up. Then, wouldn’t you know it, the chairman abolished FISA. Take the ball home. Talk about going back to Inter. Inter were up in smoke and they know it.”
Sean Moran is a policy reporter at Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
