Latest news with #Section702
Gizmodo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Gizmodo
FBI Director Kash Patel Abruptly Closes Internal Watchdog Office Overseeing Surveillance Compliance
If there's one thing the Federal Bureau of Investigation does well, it's mass surveillance. Several years ago, then attorney general William Barr established an internal office to curb the FBI's abuse of one controversial surveillance law. But recently, the FBI's long-time hater (and, ironically, current director) Kash Patel shut down the watchdog group with no explanation. On Tuesday, the New York Times reported that Patel suddenly closed the Office of Internal Auditing that Barr created in 2020. The office's leader, Cindy Hall, abruptly retired. People familiar with the matter told the outlet that the closure of the aforementioned watchdog group alongside the Office of Integrity and Compliance are part of internal reorganization. Sources also reportedly said that Hall was trying to expand the office's work, but her attempts to onboard new employees were stopped by the Trump administration's hiring freezes. The Office of Internal Auditing was a response to controversy surrounding the FBI's use of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The 2008 law primarily addresses surveillance of non-Americans abroad. However, Jeramie Scott, senior counselor at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, told Gizmodo via email that the FBI 'has repeatedly abused its ability to search Americans' communications 'incidentally' collected under Section 702' to conduct warrantless spying. Patel has not released any official comment regarding his decision to close the office. But Elizabeth Goitein, senior director at the Brennan Center for Justice, told Gizmodo via email, 'It is hard to square this move with Mr. Patel's own stated concerns about the FBI's use of Section 702.' Last year, Congress reauthorized Section 702 despite mounting concerns over its misuses. Although Congress introduced some reforms, the updated legislation actually expanded the government's surveillance capabilities. At the time, Patel slammed the law's passage, stating that former FBI director Christopher Wray, who Patel once tried to sue, 'was caught last year illegally using 702 collection methods against Americans 274,000 times.' (Per the New York Times, Patel is likely referencing a declassified 2023 opinion by the FISA court that used the Office of Internal Auditing's findings to determine the FBI made 278,000 bad queries over several years.) According to Goitein, the office has 'played a key role in exposing FBI abuses of Section 702, including warrantless searches for the communication of members of Congress, judges, and protesters.' And ironically, Patel inadvertently drove its creation after attacking the FBI's FISA applications to wiretap a former Trump campaign advisor in 2018 while investigating potential Russian election interference. Trump and his supporters used Patel's attacks to push their own narrative dismissing any concerns. Last year, former representative Devin Nunes, who is now CEO of Truth Social, said Patel was 'instrumental' to uncovering the 'hoax and finding evidence of government malfeasance.' Although Patel mostly peddled conspiracies, the Justice Department conducted a probe into the FBI's investigation that raised concerns over 'basic and fundamental errors' it committed. In response, Barr created the Office of Internal Auditing, stating, 'What happened to the Trump presidential campaign and his subsequent Administration after the President was duly elected by the American people must never happen again.' But since taking office, Patel has changed his tune about FISA. During his confirmation hearing, Patel referred to Section 702 as a 'critical tool' and said, 'I'm proud of the reforms that have been implemented and I'm proud to work with Congress moving forward to implement more.' However, reforms don't mean much by themselves. As Goitein noted, 'Without a separate office dedicated to surveillance compliance, [the FBI's] abuses could go unreported and unchecked.' An annual transparency report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence shows that the FBI's searches for Americans' information has fallen. Last year, the FBI only used 5,518 query terms about Americans, compared to 57,094 in 2023 and 119,383 in 2022. While this looks like progress, it doesn't mean that the Office of Internal Auditing's work is done. 'The FBI should maintain its audits,' Scott said, 'and if they do, the FBI must make very clear who is responsible for continuing the internal audits and ensure the oversight gets done.'
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
06-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Report finds big drop in FBI's use of intelligence database to search for information on Americans
New federal statistics show a steep decrease in the number of times the FBI searched a vast foreign intelligence repository for information about Americans and others in the United States last year. The number of 'U.S. person queries' plunged from 57,094 in 2023 to 5,518 in 2024, according to the report published Monday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The report details the use of a surveillance program, known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, that allows the U.S. government to collect without a warrant the communications of targeted foreigners located in other countries — including when they are in contact with Americans or other people inside the U.S. National security officials have said the program is vital to protecting the country, but civil liberties advocates have condemned it as a violation of Americans' privacy. The report concludes that the decrease is due in large part to the adoption of tighter rules governing the program, including a requirement that the FBI enter a justification for a database query about an American before conducting it. The numbers have dropped consistently in recent years. In 2022, the FBI racked up nearly 120,000 U.S. person queries. Former President Joe Biden signed legislation reauthorizing the surveillance law last year after debates over civil liberty protections nearly forced the statute to lapse. A key source of concern — uniting an unusual alliance of far-right Republican supporters of President Donald Trump with Democratic champions of civil liberties — is that FBI analysts have repeatedly run improper or unjustified database queries about people in the U.S. The surveillance tool was first authorized in 2008. The latest figures are included in an annual report, mandated by law, that provides statistical data about a broad array of the U.S. government's surveillance powers. The FBI had no immediate comment on the report.
Associated Press
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Report finds big drop in FBI's use of intelligence database to search for information on Americans
WASHINGTON (AP) — New federal statistics show a steep decrease in the number of times the FBI searched a vast foreign intelligence repository for information about Americans and others in the United States last year. The number of 'U.S. person queries' plunged from 57,094 in 2023 to 5,518 in 2024, according to the report published Monday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The report details the use of a surveillance program , known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, that allows the U.S. government to collect without a warrant the communications of targeted foreigners located in other countries — including when they are in contact with Americans or other people inside the U.S. National security officials have said the program is vital to protecting the country, but civil liberties advocates have condemned it as a violation of Americans' privacy. The report concludes that the decrease is due in large part to the adoption of tighter rules governing the program, including a requirement that the FBI enter a justification for a database query about an American before conducting it. The numbers have dropped consistently in recent years. In 2022, the FBI racked up nearly 120,000 U.S. person queries. Former President Joe Biden signed legislation reauthorizing the surveillance law last year after debates over civil liberty protections nearly forced the statute to lapse. A key source of concern — uniting an unusual alliance of far-right Republican supporters of President Donald Trump with Democratic champions of civil liberties — is that FBI analysts have repeatedly run improper or unjustified database queries about people in the U.S. The surveillance tool was first authorized in 2008. The latest figures are included in an annual report, mandated by law, that provides statistical data about a broad array of the U.S. government's surveillance powers. The FBI had no immediate comment on the report.
Fox News
12-02-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Tulsi Gabbard sworn in at White House hours after Senate confirmation
President Donald Trump's new Director of National Intelligence (DNI), Tulsi Gabbard, was sworn in at the White House on Wednesday, just hours after being confirmed by the Senate. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters during her briefing, "Senate Republicans continued to confirm President Trump's exceptionally qualified nominees, most recently Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who will be joining us later at the White House for her swearing-in ceremony." "It's imperative that the remainder of the president's Cabinet nominees are confirmed as quickly as possible," she added. The Senate confirmed Gabbard in a 52-48 vote. The divide was along party lines, with the exception of former GOP Senate leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who opposed her. "In my assessment, Tulsi Gabbard failed to demonstrate that she is prepared to assume this tremendous national trust," McConnell said in a lengthy statement on his vote. "The nation should not have to worry that the intelligence assessments the president receives are tainted by a Director of National Intelligence with a history of alarming lapses in judgment." Gabbard notably faced scrutiny over 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. But those concerns were mostly quelled by Gabbard herself, in coordination with the significant efforts of Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Vice President JD Vance, who worked behind the scenes to get party members on board. She is the 14th Cabinet official to be confirmed in Trump's second term. Next up will be Trump's similarly controversial pick Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is nominated to be secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). He will get a vote early Thursday morning after clearing his last procedural hurdle Wednesday afternoon.
