Latest news with #FISA
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Patel: ‘I won't be lectured' by Comey
FBI Director Kash Patel dismissed criticism from one of his predecessors, James Comey, who recently suggested Patel was ill equipped to run the bureau. In an interview Wednesday on Fox News's 'Special Report,' host Bret Baier asked Patel about Comey's recent Instagram post of shells arranged to form '8647,' in what many supporters of President Trump's said was a threat on the president's life. Others suggested the message could have been a call to oust Trump from power. Comey insisted, however, that he did not arrange the seashells himself — merely took a photo of it — and that he would never call for violence. He subsequently removed the post. 'You know, the FBI is bigger than any leader it's ever had or ever will have,' Patel said about the post. 'And James Comey is a private citizen, and he can walk around the beach and talk about seashells and Crayola crayons for all I care about and talk about how we're the conspiracy theorists.' 'But I'll just remind the American people of one thing,' he continued. 'When that man was the leader of the FBI, he perpetrated the largest criminal conspiracy, packaged political information from overseas, took it to a federal FISA court and illegally surveilled a political opponent.' 'So, I won't be lectured on how to run this FBI from that man,' the FBI chief added. Earlier that day, Comey had made an appearance on CNN and raised questions about Patel and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino's leadership abilities. The former FBI director said he's not confident in the agency's leadership but that he has faith in the career officials there. 'I hope the career people are able to support the director and the deputy director,' he said, referring to Patel and Bongino. 'There are lots of people in the FBI who know what they're doing. I hope these two guys are letting them guide them.' Comey, appointed by former President Obama in 2013, noted he lacks confidence in the leaders themselves. 'Nothing in their life or their career gives me confidence that they know anything about leading an organization like that,' Comey said. 'And so, I would have serious doubts.' 'I bet they do internally … have doubts. Great. Let the people who know what they're doing give you advice, and listen to them,' he added. Trump ousted Comey from his post leading the FBI in 2017, and the two have been vocal critics of each other since. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Patel: ‘I won't be lectured' by Comey
FBI Director Kash Patel dismissed criticism from one of his predecessors, James Comey, who recently suggested he was ill equipped to run the bureau. In an exclusive interview Wednesday on Fox News's 'Special Report,' host Bret Baier asked Patel about Comey's recent Instagram post of shells arranged to form '8647,' in what many supporters of President Trump's understood to be a threat on the president's life. Others suggested the message could have been a call to oust Trump from power. Comey insisted, however, that he did not arrange the seashells himself — merely took a photo of it — and that he would never call for violence. He subsequently removed the post. 'You know, the FBI is bigger than any leader it's ever had or ever will have,' Patel said about the Instagram post. 'And James Comey is a private citizen, and he can walk around the beach and talk about seashells and Crayola crayons for all I care about and talk about how we're the conspiracy theorists.' 'But I'll just remind the American people of one thing,' he continued. 'When that man was the leader of the FBI, he perpetrated the largest criminal conspiracy, packaged political information from overseas, took it to a federal FISA court and illegally surveilled a political opponent.' 'So, I won't be lectured on how to run this FBI from that man,' the FBI chief added. It was not immediately clear what criticism Patel's remarks were addressing, but earlier that day, Comey made an appearance on CNN and raised questions about Patel and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino's leadership abilities. Comey said he's not confident in the FBI leadership but said he has faith in the career officials there. 'I hope the career people are able to support the director and the deputy director,' Comey said, referring to Patel and Bongino. 'There are lots of people in the FBI who know what they're doing. I hope these two guys are letting them guide them.' The former Obama administration official noted that he lacks confidence in the leaders themselves. 'Nothing in their life or their career gives me confidence that they know anything about leading an organization like that,' Comey said. 'And so, I would have serious doubts.' 'I bet they do internally about whether they have doubts. Great. Let the people who know what they're doing give you advice, and listen to them,' he added. President Trump ousted Comey from his post leading the FBI in 2017 and the ex-director has since been a vocal critic of the president and vice versa.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
FBI closes unit that watched for misuse of national security surveillance to spy on Americans
The FBI has closed its unit that serves as an internal watchdog for the misuse of national security surveillance to watch citizens, according to The New York Times. The Office of Internal Auditing was recently closed by Director Kash Patel. The office was created under Donald Trump in his first term to make sure warrantless wiretaps were being used properly. The move comes as Congress is debating whether to reauthorize Section 702 of FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows for warrantless wiretapping. Overseeing the legislation was the primary focus of the office. Critics of the law may now argue that the legislation should be scrapped or curtailed as the office managing it has been shuttered. They may also say that Congress should let the law expire. It was extended to April 2026 last year. While Patel has in the past heavily criticized the FBI for the alleged abuse of the surveillance legislation, he said during his confirmation hearing before the Senate that it was an important tool to collect foreign intelligence for the protection of national security. The office was closed as part of a wider reorganization, The Times reported. The duties of the Office of Internal Auditing, as well as the Office of Integrity and Compliance, which worked to make sure staff followed laws and regulations, have been taken on by the inspection division. It's an internal affairs unit that reviews agent shootings and misconduct allegations. FBI searches for information about Americans under Section 702 have dropped significantly, according to an annual report released this month by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. While the FBI used 5,518 query terms, such as email addresses and phone numbers, about Americans in 2024, the agency used 57,094 terms in 2023 and 119,383 in 2022. The national security division and the Department of Justice inspector general also review the FBI's FISA use compliance. Becoming law in 1978, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act requires the FBI to go to a special court to get warrants when conducting wiretapping operations on American soil for investigations into people thought to be spies or foreign terrorists. Congress added an exception in 2008, Section 702, which allowed the government to gather, without court orders, the messages of foreigners abroad even when they were speaking to Americans. The politics of the issue changed as President Donald Trump grew hostile to the FBI following an investigation into the connections between Russia and his 2016 campaign in the midst of Russian election interference. Patel rose to prominence on the right as a congressional staffer on the House Intelligence Committee in 2018 when he took aim at FISA applications that the FBI submitted to request permission from a court to wiretap a former Trump campaign adviser during the investigation into the connections to Russia. The narrative aided Trump as he claimed the investigation was a 'hoax' perpetrated by the 'deep state.' Many of the claims pushed by Patel that year were false or misleading. However, an inspector general found different issues with the FBI's FISA applications during the Russia probe in December 2019. Audits discovered agents and analysts crossed the line several times when looking for information about Americans. The Office of Internal Auditing was created by Attorney General Bill Barr and then-FBI Director Christopher Wray in 2020. 'Chris Wray was caught last year illegally using 702 collection methods against Americans 274,000 times,' Patel said on a rightwing podcast in November 2024 as he slammed Congress for reauthorizing the use of Section 702. Patel seemed to be referencing a FISA court opinion from 2023 stating that there had been 278,000 bad queries of information under Section 702 by agents and analysts at the agency over the course of a number of years, including before internal changes to restrict the use of the section. The court was using information from the Office of Internal Auditing. Patel was pushed on his previous statements during his Senate confirmation hearing in late January. He claimed that he supported the preservation of Section 702 and that recent changes made 'go a long way.' Calling the section a 'critical tool,' Patel went on to say that he was 'proud of the reforms that have been implemented' and that he was 'proud to work with Congress' to put in place more changes to its use.
The Independent
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
FBI closes unit that watched for misuse of national security surveillance to spy on Americans
The FBI has closed its unit that serves as an internal watchdog for the misuse of national security surveillance to watch citizens, according to The New York Times. The Office of Internal Auditing was recently closed by Director Kash Patel. The office was created under Donald Trump in his first term to make sure warrantless wiretaps were being used properly. The move comes as Congress is debating whether to reauthorize Section 702 of FISA, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows for warrantless wiretapping. Overseeing the legislation was the primary focus of the office. Critics of the law may now argue that the legislation should be scrapped or curtailed as the office managing it has been shuttered. They may also say that Congress should let the law expire. It was extended to April 2026 last year. While Patel has in the past heavily criticized the FBI for the alleged abuse of the surveillance legislation, he said during his confirmation hearing before the Senate that it was an important tool to collect foreign intelligence for the protection of national security. The office was closed as part of a wider reorganization, The Times reported. The duties of the Office of Internal Auditing, as well as the Office of Integrity and Compliance, which worked to make sure staff followed laws and regulations, have been taken on by the inspection division. It's an internal affairs unit that reviews agent shootings and misconduct allegations. FBI searches for information about Americans under Section 702 have dropped significantly, according to an annual report released this month by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. While the FBI used 5,518 query terms, such as email addresses and phone numbers, about Americans in 2024, the agency used 57,094 terms in 2023 and 119,383 in 2022. The national security division and the Department of Justice inspector general also review the FBI's FISA use compliance. Becoming law in 1978, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act requires the FBI to go to a special court to get warrants when conducting wiretapping operations on American soil for investigations into people thought to be spies or foreign terrorists. Congress added an exception in 2008, Section 702, which allowed the government to gather, without court orders, the messages of foreigners abroad even when they were speaking to Americans. The politics of the issue changed as President Donald Trump grew hostile to the FBI following an investigation into the connections between Russia and his 2016 campaign in the midst of Russian election interference. Patel rose to prominence on the right as a congressional staffer on the House Intelligence Committee in 2018 when he took aim at FISA applications that the FBI submitted to request permission from a court to wiretap a former Trump campaign adviser during the investigation into the connections to Russia. The narrative aided Trump as he claimed the investigation was a 'hoax' perpetrated by the 'deep state.' Many of the claims pushed by Patel that year were false or misleading. However, an inspector general found different issues with the FBI's FISA applications during the Russia probe in December 2019. Audits discovered agents and analysts crossed the line several times when looking for information about Americans. The Office of Internal Auditing was created by Attorney General Bill Barr and then-FBI Director Christopher Wray in 2020. 'Chris Wray was caught last year illegally using 702 collection methods against Americans 274,000 times,' Patel said on a rightwing podcast in November 2024 as he slammed Congress for reauthorizing the use of Section 702. Patel seemed to be referencing a FISA court opinion from 2023 stating that there had been 278,000 bad queries of information under Section 702 by agents and analysts at the agency over the course of a number of years, including before internal changes to restrict the use of the section. The court was using information from the Office of Internal Auditing. Patel was pushed on his previous statements during his Senate confirmation hearing in late January. He claimed that he supported the preservation of Section 702 and that recent changes made 'go a long way.' Calling the section a 'critical tool,' Patel went on to say that he was 'proud of the reforms that have been implemented' and that he was 'proud to work with Congress' to put in place more changes to its use.
The Guardian
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Kash Patel scraps FBI unit monitoring surveillance rules compliance
The FBI director, Kash Patel, has scrapped a watchdog team set up to scrutinise a warrantless surveillance law he previously claimed was being abused to target supporters of Donald Trump. He has ordered the closure of the FBI's office of internal auditing, a unit set up during Trump's first presidency to uncover misuses of a contentious part of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (Fisa), the New York Times reported. The office was established in 2020 by William Barr, the then attorney general, following criticisms that Fisa's section 702 – which allowed for the electronic tracking of foreign nationals – had instead been used to surveil Americans they had been in contact with. Patel, who was a vocal critic of the FBI before being confirmed as Trump's nominee as its director, has frequently taken aim at Fisa, which has been more commonly criticised by left-leaning civil liberties groups. During his Senate confirmation hearings, Patel appeared to retreat from his previous stances by saying he he saw Fisa as a vital tool for collecting information and protecting national security. Closing the office set up to oversee Fisa could renew calls for the law, which was extended last year after heated debate, to be scrapped when it comes up for renewal again in 2026. Critics have expressed concern that section 702 – which legalised Fisa in 2008 as part of then president George W Bush's 'war on terror' – allows the government to collect information without a warrant from foreign targets even if they are communicating with US citizens, arguing that it violates Americans' constitutional right to privacy. Patel came to prominence as a Republican congressional staff member of the House of Representatives' intelligence committee in 2018 by criticising the FBI's applications under Fisa to wiretap a former Trump campaign adviser during the Russia investigation. The investigation had been launched into allegations that the Kremlin attempted to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. Although many of Patel's claims subsequently proved to be baseless, they supported Trump's claim that the Russia inquiry was part of a 'deep state' hoax. The office of internal auditing – the unit Patel is closing – was established after an inspector general's report in 2019 into the FBI's investigation revealed a different set of concerns, some of them unconnected with Trump. In response, Barr issued an order the following year stating the need for a 'robust internal compliance program … to ensure faithful compliance with the laws, policies, and procedures that govern [FBI] activities'. 'To enhance the FBI's existing compliance efforts, the director of the FBI is taking steps to build a more robust and exacting internal audit capability, including the creation of an office focused on auditing the FBI's national security activities,' Barr wrote, explaining the new unit's purpose. A separate office would be set up and headed by a senior FBI official to make sure that 'rigorous and robust auditing' is carried out, he added. The FBI has not commented on the latest developments. But the New York Times reported that both offices had been absorbed into the bureau's inspection division, while Cindy Hall, the leader of the office of internal auditing, had abruptly retired.
