GOP Congressman Says He Believes FBI Illegally Spied on Him Under FISA Authority

Rep. Darin L. Hood (R-Ill.), suggested on March 9 that he was the subject a foreign intelligence surveillance act (FISA) violation query.

During a House Intelligence Committee hearing on global threats, the lawmaker made these comments.

In a 2021 report ordered by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC)—the closed-door judicial body that grants broad surveillance authority to intelligence officials—it was revealed The FBI used FISA to spy on more than 3.3 million Americans, without a warrant.

According to the report, one of the more three million queries was filed against an unnamed person, who was a sitting member when the query occurred. LaHood believed that he was this individual during the hearing.

“I want to make clear the FBI’s inappropriate querying of a duly elected member of Congress is egregious and a violation not only that degrades the trust in FISA, but is viewed as a threat to the separation of powers,” LaHood added. “I have had the opportunity to review the classified summary of this violation, and it is my opinion that the member of Congress that was wrongfully queried multiple times solely by his name was in fact me.”

Unnamed intelligence analyst conducted redacted queries according to the FISC-ordered reports “using only the name of a U.S. congressman.”

These questions were ruled to be in the report “noncompliant” Follow legal requirements “overly broad.”

As a safeguard for Americans’ civil liberties in 1978, the FISA was passed by Congress. It gives intelligence agencies limited authority over foreign intelligence information. This includes the collection of communications and metadata from cell phones belonging to suspected foreign actors. 

The modern-day FISA, which was substantially expanded in 2008, contains a controversial 9/11-era provision—section 702 of the bill—granting intelligence agencies broad authority to spy on both foreign and domestic actors. Many Republicans accuse have accused the intelligence community of using these powers to go after political opponents, violating Americans’ core legal rights

Intelligence officials have given priority to the renewal of section 702 of FISA, which will expire Dec. 31, 2023.

‘FISA Has Been Abused’: Turner

Dwindling public trust was a key issue for House Republicans during a March 9 hearing of the House Intelligence Committee, as Republicans discussed the U.S. government’s intelligence-gathering tools and grilled leaders on their internal methods for ensuring the fair execution of the law.

Mike Turner (Republican from Ohio) was the chairman of the committee. He spoke out at the hearing referring to section 702 FISA. “essential” However, it has been the subject of a number of abuses.

“There have been and continue to be many abuses of FISA. It must be reformed.”

Turner revealed plans to form a six member working group made up of three Republicans as well as three Democrats to address the issue of Section 702’s renewal.

“Congress cannot reform FISA alone,” Turner told the panelists that Turner hoped they would work together with the working group to renew FISA using a revised form. “that safeguard[s] and guarantee[s] the rights of all U.S. citizens.”

“It is the actions of individuals in your organizations that have degraded the public trust that has ultimately put FISA at risk,” Turner addressed the intelligence leaders.

Turner stated that the first step in restoring public trust is to get it back. “is an ability to admit that there is in fact a problem.”

LaHood went one step further and stated that he believes efforts to reauthorize Section 702 as it is currently written are a mistake. “non-starter.”

“Unfortunately, there are far too many members of Congress on both sides of the aisle that question whether the executive branch can be trusted with this powerful tool,” LaHood stated that FISA was too broad to be continued in its current form, citing both Republican and Democratic concerns.

‘No Violations Are Defensible’: FBI Director Wray

Christopher Wray, FBI Director, testified before the panel about the alleged abuses in the FISA. “no violations [of the FISA or section 702] are defensible.”

Wray’s statement was prompted in part by LaHood’s question, who asked him if he would. “acknowledge that the FBI has committed abuses and violations in its use of FISA.”

“Is that defensible?” LaHood was added.

“First off, no violations are defensible,” Wray stated.

Wray admitted that he had done it. “There have been compliance incidents that have to be addressed.”

“We have taken all sorts of steps [to increase FISA compliance] that I could walk the committee through here to address that issue,” Wray added, “What’s important to note about that is that all of the reports to date on that have been shared with the public and I think with the Congress.”

Wray claimed that rampant violations identified in the 2021 report were being addressed. He also cited a significant decrease in illegal FISA inquiries in 2022.

“So it’s a dramatic increase in the judiciousness with which our people are running their queries,” Wray stated. “And we are absolutely committed to making sure that we show you [the members of the committee], the rest of the members of Congress, and the American people that were worthy of these incredibly valuable authorities.”

Wray acknowledged, however, “We clearly have a lot of work to do with this committee.”