The top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee happily predicted Congress does not have the votes to renew Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act provisions unless reforms are put in place to limit spying.
Georgia Rep. Doug Collins was asked by Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo on Sunday whether the House had enough members willing to vote for a “clean” FISA reauthorization by Friday before certain authorities are set to expire this weekend.
“No, I don’t think we do, and I think that’s a good thing,” Collins said on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures. “I think that’s good for the president. I think that’s good for the country … People have lost trust in the Department of Justice. They’ve lost trust in the FISA court.”
Republican allies of President Trump have demanded FISA reform after Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz released a report in December that criticized the DOJ and the FBI for at least 17 “significant errors and omissions” related to the FISA surveillance of Trump campaign associate Carter Page, a U.S. citizen who was never charged with wrongdoing, and its heavy reliance on British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s salacious and unverified dossier.
“In my position, I think the House’s position, and actually the president has mentioned this as well, is now is our time to actually look at what needs to happen with the court itself, so that we don’t get another Carter Page, we don’t get another president, like President Trump as a candidate and as president was, attacked by a rogue cabal at the DOJ abusing the FISA process,” Collins said. “I think the House right now is in no position to pass anything that doesn’t have some actual Title I changes — which is the actual court itself — so that we can protect American citizens in sensitive areas.”
Collins said he was “working hard” through the weekend on possible legislative fixes.
FISA authorities including roving wiretap powers, the business records provision, and the “lone wolf” amendment are set to sunset on March 15 if not reauthorized, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are considering reforms to the law that determines the procedures for surveillance for counterintelligence or anti-terrorism investigations.
Democrats want changes to protect civil liberties and prevent abuse of the surveillance measures, and reforms will likely include permanently ending the Call Details Record Program, which allows the government to seek call metadata from telecommunications companies. The National Security Agency ended this program under pressure last year, but lawmakers are working to ensure it is not revived.
Republicans want greater oversight of the FISA court and of the actions taken by the FBI and DOJ to secretly surveil U.S. citizens suspected of being agents of a foreign power.
Republicans and Democrats rejected an effort to tie FISA reauthorization to billions of coronavirus emergency funding last week.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said “the FISA process was abused to spy on Donald Trump,” adding, “we need real reform, not political games.”
Last week, Trump and Attorney General William Barr met with Republican lawmakers, which put the divide on the FISA matter on display.
Barr has repeatedly advocated for the “clean” extension of the provisions and asked for time to implement his own internal reforms aimed at stopping surveillance abuses.
But, according to Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, “The president made it exceedingly clear that he will not accept a clean reauthorization … without real reform.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said, “My own preference is to extend these three or four expiring authorities … but there are differences among my members and among the Democrats on the way forward … If we’re unable to resolve our differences, my preference would be for another extension.”
Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham previously said Barr “made a commitment to make sure that what happened in 2016 — that internally he’s going to clean up that mess.” The South Carolina Republican added: “You’ve got three provisions to deal with. I think it’d be smart to keep them in place.”
Trump’s new nominee for director of national intelligence, Rep. John Ratcliffe, noted “there was illegal surveillance” of Trump, but the Texas Republican also defended the value of the surveillance law used to root out terrorists and spies.
Republicans in the House said FISA reform was imperative.
“We are right in the middle of reauthorizing the FISA process,” North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows said. “Shame on any member of Congress or senator, including Republicans, if we reauthorize it without reforming it.”
The Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee struck a similar tone.
“Nope, I don’t want to do it — not without major reforms,” New York Rep. Jerry Nadler told CNN when asked if he’d support a short-term FISA reauthorization.
The House Judiciary Committee suspended a markup session for FISA reform legislation last month after Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren offered up what her critics called “poison pill” amendments.
“If we don’t take this opportunity to reform the FISA process, we are missing an opportunity,” the California Democrat said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said FISA reauthorization needs to happen by March 12, before Congress leaves town.
“We have to have a reauthorization of FISA,” the California Democrat told reporters last week. “We’re having our own negotiations within our own group, but also among the Democrats and vis-a-vis the Republicans.”
