Trump’s history with FISA takes spotlight amid fight over FBI spy powers
Former President
Donald Trump urged Republicans on Wednesday to vote against reauthorizing
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, citing how the government misused FISA to surveil one of his 2016 campaign aides.
However, Trump’s opposition to the bill did not entirely account for the former president’s history with Section 702 or the provisions of the current reauthorization bill that the House is fighting over.
“KILL FISA, IT WAS ILLEGALLY USED AGAINST ME, AND MANY OTHERS. THEY SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN!!!” Trump wrote Wednesday morning.
In a jarring blow to GOP leadership, the measure failed after 19 Republicans defected from the party and voted against it. Many news reports and commentators were quick to draw a correlation between Trump’s morning advocacy and the failed afternoon bill.
Still, Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has enormous sway over the party and a platform to reach millions of supporters. The timing of his statement suggested that the Carter Page surveillance abuse, which a Department of Justice inspector general
made public in 2019, was related to the current Section 702 fight, when, in reality, those improprieties occurred through a separate provision of FISA that is unaffected by Section 702.
Trump urged Republicans to vote against reauthorizing Section 702 of FISA, citing how the government abused its surveillance powers during his 2016 campaign.
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