House of Representatives Taps New Appropriations Leader Amid Spy Powers Fight

Unique Points

• House Speaker Mike Johnson faces a tough fight on reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
• Conservatives are pushing for an amendment that would implement warrant requirements, saying FISA has strayed from its origins.
• National security hawks argue that warrant rules would hinder the ability to monitor threats in real time.

Accuracy

• The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) is set to expire on April 19, and Congress has not yet agreed on how to reform the controversial spy powers.
• House Judiciary Committee Republicans and House Intelligence Committee Republicans are at odds over whether a warrant requirement should be included in the bill.
• The FBI supervisors or attorneys would have to approve any agent query that might involve U.S citizens under Section 702 of FISA, which has dropped substantially since a shift in the FBI search portal that opted agents into searching the 702 database.
• An after-the-fact review of all 702 queries of U.S citizens is required under Section 702.
• The intelligence community sees no substitute to Section 702 and believes it fills a critical role in protecting the country with speed and reliability that cannot be replaced by any other authority.
• Privacy hawks see a warrant as the only way to protect Americans from being surveilled, but this stance is not shared by all.
• The text of the FISA reauthorization bill does not include a warrant requirement but contains numerous reforms to address concerns about prior abuse by the FBI.
• Efforts to add a warrant requirement have rocked the bill's path to the floor, and could do so again.
• House Judiciary members, including Jordan, have pushed for a vote on adding a warrant requirement to the bill.
• The big question will be whether the bill can get out of Rules Committee or if it has to go under suspension.
• If it does go under suspension, it needs more votes and there can't be amendments.
• Democrats are similarly divided over whether to support the bill, with some calling for a warrant requirement or other reforms.
• The first hurdle of even determining how the bill comes to the floor is Republican dynamics.

Deception (30%)

• FISA has strayed from its origins
• The two sides expect potential fireworks at the GOP's internal conference meeting Wednesday.

Fallacies (70%)

• The FISA reform bill needs to be amended to place restrictions on the FBI and create transparency through the FISA process
• It is continuously abused by state agencies to broadly spy on Americans.

Bias (85%)

• House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-Ohio) said during an appearance on CNN's State of the Union that warrant rules would hinder the ability to monitor threats in real time.
• Johnson is selling the bill by noting it includes language to curb domestic surveillance.
• Rep. Russ Fulcher (R-Idaho) told Axios that FISA has strayed from its origins and needs to be amended to place restrictions on the FBI and create transparency through the FISA process

Site Conflicts Of Interest (50%)

None Found At Time Of Publication

Author Conflicts Of Interest (50%)

• Juliegrace Brufke is reporting on Mike Johnson and his role in the FISA reauthorization debate. She quotes him extensively throughout her article.

Unique Points

• The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) is set to expire on April 19, and Congress has not yet agreed on how to reform the controversial spy powers.
• House Judiciary Committee Republicans and House Intelligence Committee Republicans are at odds over whether a warrant requirement should be included in the bill.
• The FBI supervisors or attorneys would have to approve any agent query that might involve U.S citizens under Section 702 of FISA, which has dropped substantially since a shift in the FBI search portal that opted agents into searching the 702 database.
• An after-the-fact review of all 702 queries of U.S citizens is required under Section 702.
• The intelligence community sees no substitute to Section 702 and believes it fills a critical role in protecting the country with speed and reliability that cannot be replaced by any other authority.
• Privacy hawks see a warrant as the only way to protect Americans from being surveilled, but this stance is not shared by all.
• The text of the FISA reauthorization bill does not include a warrant requirement but contains numerous reforms to address concerns about prior abuse by the FBI.
• Efforts to add a warrant requirement have rocked the bill's path to the floor, and could do so again.
• House Judiciary members, including Jordan, have pushed for a vote on adding a warrant requirement to the bill.
• The big question will be whether the bill can get out of Rules Committee or if it has to go under suspension.
• If it does go under suspension, it needs more votes and there can't be amendments.
• Democrats are similarly divided over whether to support the bill, with some calling for a warrant requirement or other reforms.
• The first hurdle of even determining how the bill comes to the floor is Republican dynamics.

Accuracy

No Contradictions at Time Of Publication

Deception (50%)

• The article quotes various national security leaders without providing any context or explanation for their positions. This creates an impression that these figures are simply mouthpieces for a particular agenda rather than independent thinkers with their own perspectives.
• The article oversimplifies the debate over FISA 702 by presenting it as a binary choice between those who want a warrant requirement and those who don't. This ignores important factors at play, such as the potential impact on civil liberties and national security interests.

Fallacies (80%)

None Found At Time Of Publication

Bias (85%)

• The text of the FISA reauthorization bill doesn't include a warrant requirement but does contain numerous reforms to address concerns about prior abuse by the FBI.

Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)

None Found At Time Of Publication

Author Conflicts Of Interest (50%)

• The article cites Chip Roy (R-Texas) as another Republican who supports reforming FISA 702 and requiring warrants for surveillance on U.S citizens. The author does not explain why this position is controversial or how it would affect national security, which could suggest that they are sympathetic to the views of their party's opponents on these issues.
• The article mentions Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) as one of the Republicans who oppose any changes to FISA 702 and argue that it is essential for national security. The author does not provide any counterarguments or alternative perspectives from Democrats or privacy advocates, which could indicate a lack of balance in their reporting.
• The article quotes Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) as saying that FISA 702 fills the role of spy powers with 'speed and reliability'. This implies that the author agrees with his statement and does not question its validity or implications. The author may have a professional affiliation with Republican Main Street Partnership, which could influence their reporting on this topic.

Unique Points

• The House is returning for a messy spy powers fight.
• A new Appropriations leader will be tapped.

Accuracy

No Contradictions at Time Of Publication

Deception (100%)

None Found At Time Of Publication

Fallacies (100%)

None Found At Time Of Publication

Bias (100%)

None Found At Time Of Publication

Site Conflicts Of Interest (100%)

None Found At Time Of Publication

Author Conflicts Of Interest (0%)

None Found At Time Of Publication

Unique Points

• The SAFE Act is a bipartisan compromise bill that protects Americans from foreign threats and from warrantless government surveillance.
• Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced the legislation.
• Section 702 of FISA will be reauthorized with meaningful safeguards against warrantless surveillance and government abuses under the SAFE Act.

Accuracy

No Contradictions at Time Of Publication

Deception (50%)

• The article states that 'the SAFE Act is bipartisan legislation' when in fact it only includes cosponsors from both parties.
• The article states that 'the SAFE Act protects Americans from foreign threats and warrantless government surveillance' when in fact it only requires a warrant for accessing content of American communications collected under Section 702 if there has been a U.S person search returned results which dramatically reduces the number of cases where the government must seek a warrant.

Fallacies (85%)

• The SAFE Act includes the following key safeguards and reforms: Requires intelligence agencies to obtain a FISA Title I order or a warrant before accessing the contents of Americans' communications collected under Section 702 but not before running queries. This narrow warrant requirement is carefully crafted to ensure that it is feasible to implement and sufficiently flexible to accommodate legitimate security needs.
• The bill will not require a warrant for searches of foreigners' communications or searches to uncover connections between targeted foreigners and Americans.

Bias (100%)

None Found At Time Of Publication

Site Conflicts Of Interest (50%)

None Found At Time Of Publication

Author Conflicts Of Interest (0%)

None Found At Time Of Publication

Unique Points

• The House of Representatives is set to renew the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) for another five years.
• Illegal federal-surveillance scandals have rocked the nation for more than a decade.
• Edward Snowden revealed in 2013 that FISA had unleashed federal agencies to snoop on anyone they pleased, including those searching the web for suspicious stuff.

Accuracy

No Contradictions at Time Of Publication

Deception (90%)

• The author's statement that FISA has unleashed federal agencies to snoop on anyone they pleased is not supported by any evidence or facts presented in the article.

Fallacies (85%)

• The government has lied, obfuscated, cheated, and manipulated FISA 702
• requires FBI personnel who conduct 702 queries to undergo annual training.

Bias (75%)

• `Capitol Hill is a surreal atmosphere where almost all prior government abuses vanish into mist when congressmen seek to perpetuate federal power.`
• `Confessing millions of violations of Americans’ privacy is not “close enough for government work” in safeguarding constitutional rights. As Sen. Lee observed, “The government has lied, obfuscated, cheated, and manipulated FISA 702, depriving Americans of one of our core constitutional protections.”`
• `Congress puts more nails in the constitutional coffin as it’s set to renew FISA`
• `FBI chief Christopher Wray testified last month that the bureau’s FISA reforms “are working” with a stratospheric rate of compliance. But the FBI admitted to conducting 278,000 illicit searches of Americans in 2020 and early 2021 (the period covered by the FISA court ruling released last year).`
• `House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio) is relying on Orwellian-caliber falsehoods to spur support for reauthorization: “We are not spying on Americans. This is not a warrantless-surveillance program.” On Sunday night, Turner told Politico: “FISA is about surveillance of foreigners abroad – the issues of Americans’ privacy and data are unrelated to our spying on foreigners.”`
• `House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) led the push to require the FBI get a search warrant to pilfer through Americans’ personal information. But the RISA pseudo-reform instead would merely “require approval from an FBI lawyer for database searches about Americans.”`
• `House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) seemed to agree, just declaring in a Dear Colleague letter, “I can state unequivocally that the FBI terribly abused the FISA authority in recent years, and in turn, violated the trust and confidence of the American people.” But Johnson has betrayed reformers`
• `Justice Department inspector-general reports have repeatedly exposed FISA violations since then.`
• `Plus or minus 3,394,053? That’s the number of Americans whose privacy was unjustifiably zapped by FBI warrantless searches using Section 702 in a single year, per a 2022 federal report. Turner did not disclose what size broom he used to sweep 3+ million cases under a rug.`
• `Republicans who are scurrying to perpetuate FISA could enable Team Biden to steal the 2024 presidential election. The 2016 election settled any doubts about whether FBI officials would abuse FISA to undermine a presidential candidate. Why expect Biden appointees to be more scrupulous than were Obama administration officials eight years ago?`
• `Under FISA Section 702, the National Security Agency vacuums up troves of information as part of its foreign surveillance. But vast amounts of Americans’ personal data are also incidentally snared. Perpetual abuses have occurred when the FBI sifts through Americans’ emails and other information without a search warrant.`
• `Whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed in 2013 that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act had unleashed federal agencies to snoop on anyone they pleased, including anyone “searching the web for suspicious stuff.”`

Site Conflicts Of Interest (50%)

• House Intelligence Committee Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio)
• Orwellian-caliber falsehoods to spur support for reauthorization.
• Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) quipped that FISA stands for “Federal Investigators Stalking Americans.”

Author Conflicts Of Interest (50%)

• James Bovard interviewed Edward Snowden, whom he has a personal relationship with.
• James Bovard is an author who wrote about FISA and surveillance in his book 'The Tyranny Incognito: Crimes of Surveillance'.