Staff Reports
On Tuesday, Paul Abbate, the Deputy Director of the FBI, was called to testify before the US Senate Judiciary Committee. The hearing focused on the agency's actions, including the redaction of certain communications related to the Biden bribery scandal.
As the Senate considered the extension of the FISA surveillance program, Senator Mike Lee criticized the term "non-compliant search," which he said was an attempt to make searches without warrants look more like legitimate activities.
A report released in May revealed that the FBI had inappropriately used the database over 278,000 times. Lee noted that these actions weren't isolated instances and that the agency had violated the rights of millions of individuals. Among those who were targeted were Donald Trump and other Republican politicians.
🧵 Why should we ever trust the @FBI & @TheJusticeDept to fix its own problems internally? pic.twitter.com/yILwOf6E9w
— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) June 13, 2023
According to the report, the FBI used Section 702 of the FISA to collect information about people who were involved in the January 6, 2021, riot on the US Capitol grounds. Despite its lack of evidentiary or analytical capabilities, the agency was able to obtain information on US citizens.
During the hearing, Senator Hawley asked Deputy Director Abbate about the FISA application that was used to monitor Carter Page, a Trump campaign aide. He noted that the agency had violated the civil rights of the individual. Abbate's response was unacceptable, as he noted that the disciplinary process had been ongoing.
Senator Hawley noted that the FBI's actions during the investigations were appalling, and he called for the entire approval of Section 702 to be revoked. He asked why the agency would continue conducting surveillance operations in an improper manner.
It has been stated that the FBI cannot be trusted anymore. It's time for all Republican Senators to join together and prevent the extension of the surveillance program. Hopefully, the recent hearings will lead to changes within the FBI.
Source: Red State
