Latest news with #FISASection702stance
Fox News
07-02-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Deadline looms for release of JFK assassination files
The Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and the attorney general are expected to release their proposed plan for the declassification of the JFK files on Friday. Both offices, in coordination with the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and the Counsel to the President, have until the end of the day Friday to release their proposed plan. Last month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to declassify files on the assassinations of former President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert F. Kennedy and civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr. "Everything will be revealed," Trump told reporters as he signed the order in the Oval Office. The executive order came after Trump had previously promised on the campaign trail to declassify the documents upon entering his second term, saying at the time, "When I return to the White House, I will declassify and unseal all JFK assassination-related documents. It's been 60 years, time for the American people to know the truth." Trump had initially promised to release the last batch of documents during his first term, but such efforts ultimately dissipated. Trump then blocked the release of hundreds of records on the assassination following several CIA and FBI appeals. "I have no choice," Trump said in a memo, where he cited "potentially irreversible harm" to national security if he allowed the records to be released. Trump said at the time the potential harm to U.S. national security, law enforcement or foreign affairs is "of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in immediate disclosure." Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was sworn in on Wednesday, is in New Orleans, Louisiana, for the day to survey Super Bowl LIX security. Bondi's first full day on the job is part of an effort to highlight the administration's broader commitment to crack down on violent crime and acts of terrorism. Bondi has yet to formally address Trump's order to declassify the JFK assassination files and her approach to the task. Fox News Digital learned shortly after she was sworn in that the new AG would be issuing several major directives on her first day, including orders to combat the weaponization of the legal system and making prosecutors seek the death penalty when appropriate. Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's pick for DNI, successfully advanced out of the Intel Committee this week, with all Republican members voting in her favor. Gabbard has faced questions during her confirmation process regarding her past meeting with former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, her previous FISA Section 702 stance and her past support for NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Fox News
04-02-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Tulsi Gabbard advances out of Intel Committee in boost to confirmation odds
Tulsi Gabbard passed a key committee hurdle on Tuesday, and her nomination will now head to the Senate floor where she'll get a final confirmation vote. President Donald Trump tapped Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman, to be Director of National Intelligence (DNI) in his second term. Some issues the nominee has been pressed on during her confirmation process are her past meeting with former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, her previous FISA Section 702 stance and her past support for NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. She faced questions about each in her hearing last week. Gabbard managed to impress some Republicans on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence with her answers, as both Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, revealed afterward that they would vote to advance her. Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., endorsed Trump's DNI nominee last month after she announced her changed beliefs about section 702, a critical and controversial intelligence gathering tool. He reiterated this support after her hearing. However, there were remaining questions about certain senators up until the committee's closed-door vote on Tuesday. Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., is one of the lawmakers that did not disclose how he would vote beforehand. In a since-deleted post on X the weekend prior, Trump-aligned billionaire Elon Musk slammed Young as a "deep state puppet" in regard to his uncertainty about Gabbard. But the two seemed to patch things up on a phone call soon after. A spokesperson for Young told Fox News Digital in a statement, "Senator Young and Mr. Musk had a great conversation on a number of subjects and policy areas where they have a shared interest, like DOGE." Musk also shared on X over the weekend, "Just had an excellent conversation with [Young]. I stand corrected. Senator Young will be a great ally in restoring power to the people from the vast, unelected bureaucracy."
