Don’t fall for Trump’s lies — FISA 702 endangers your privacy

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is a powerful authority to surveil Americans without a warrant — and it has a troubling history of misuse.

That is why a group of bipartisan members of Congress have been pushing for years to reform this authority — to demand real protections and safeguards to put an end to loopholes and abuses that infringe on the privacy rights of people. This year, it is more important than ever that we achieve those fundamental reforms.

Currently, the law is set to expire on April 20 unless Congress acts. Trump and White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller have been pushing for a “clean” extension of the law, with no new protections or safeguards. That is a reckless move — especially dangerous given how the White House has decimated independent oversight, shut down key auditing offices, and purged the FBI, the Department of Justice, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to prioritize loyalty to the president.

Protecting Americans’ constitutional rights while operating this surveillance program is only possible when key oversight and auditors within executive branch agencies are able to operate independently from the federal government and the president. While this Department of Justice’s actions have been particularly egregious, administrations on both sides of the aisle have routinely violated Americans’ privacy rights and conducted surveillance on millions of people without any warrant or justification.

This administration has made it particularly clear that there will be no independent check on the president’s authority. In fact, a recently published FISA court ruling shows that the FBI is already finding loopholes, with agents conducting secret searches that have not been logged and audited, as intended and required by law.

Now, President Trump is trying to sell warrantless surveillance by peddling the lie that this law doesn’t affect Americans. In a Truth Social post, he framed section 702 as a tool that will........

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