FISA, FISC and Section 702 (Spying)
“People’s hair would curl if they knew about the tools the government has to spy on people.” CIA analyst statement
It is essential to understand the laws and due process protections guaranteed to all U.S. citizens in this digital age. Secret or unauthorized surveillance is not a new issue for the intelligence community. The problem that plagued the FBI two decades ago still lingers into today. At its core, a FISA abuse involves the deliberate omission of material facts, by the agents applying for FISA warrants in sensitive counterterrorism and counterintelligence cases.
Shortly after America was attacked on September 11, 2001, it became apparent after an oversight review that widespread omissions in the FISA process were being abused. A declassified FISC order from 2002, revealed just how dangerous the omission abuses were. In one case, the FBI failed to tell the court that the person they were seeking a FISA warrant to surveil, was in fact, one of their own informants. The court also expressed concern that “misinformation found its way into the FISA applications and remained uncorrected, despite procedures to verify the accuracy of FISA pleadings.”
Such omissions are a serious matter at the FISC court since it is the one court in America where the accused has no representation or chance to defend themselves. That means the FBI is obligated to disclose in the warrant, evidence of both guilt and innocence, leaving the court to decide probable cause.
Around 2003, the FBI created a new system called the Woods Procedures, that set to ensure FISA warrant applications to surveil U.S. citizens were accurate and did not omit material information.
Different from a FISA warrant, Section 702 permits the government to target surveillance against foreign persons located outside the United States, without a FISA warrant or going to the FISC Court. Foreign person’s identities are not hidden in the foreign data collection for the purpose of acquiring intelligence information.
By law, the names of U.S. citizens are hidden (masked) from Section 702 foreign meta-data collection, whether they are in the United States or abroad. The only way to unmask U.S. citizens in Section 702 meta-data collection and intelligence gathering is to present evidence to the FISC court that they are potentially doing something wrong with foreigners.
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The confusion created during the 2016 election, exposed unauthorized back channels into the NSA, which the FBI was utilizing to spy on U.S. citizens with unrestricted access illegally. The “contractor” portal was discovered and then shutdown in 2016, in the middle of the “Russian Conspiracy” operation. Spying on the opposition-candidate and campaign associates played an essential silent-role in executing the Russian Collusion narrative. The NSA contractor fallout revealed that the FBI had to apply for warrants using the FISA court (legal) process to re-establish surveillance on U.S. citizens.
Civil Rights Activists? Anyone? Buller? Crickets. …
It’s easy to accept something you usually wouldn’t when it’s done against something you don’t like, isn’t it?
FBI timeline of surveillance
The FBI had no choice and was forced to use the salacious and unverified Steele Dossier, which was initially designed for spreading smears through the media, not the FISA courts. To use the dossier's allegations as the basis for the FISA warrant request, the FBI had to present evidence that the accusations were “corroborated.” Steele passed the dossier to Kathleen Kavalec at the State Department and to Harry Reid, they both passed it back to the FBI, providing the FBI with two additional government sources to create the illusion of verification. The FBI also cited its own scooped up leaks to the media.
However, to fully complete the FISC court surveillance warrant requirements, the FBI had to manufacture evidence, receive pre-approved applications, and omit known exculpatory information. All of which is illegal, not to mention a violation of U.S. citizen’s civil rights and due process.
Click on the dates to examine the FBI timeline of surveillance abuse.