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Trump Signs Surveillance Extension Into Law (thehill.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the invasion-of-privacy dept.

President Trump took to Twitter this afternoon to announce that he has signed a six-year renewal of a powerful government surveillance tool. "Just signed 702 Bill to authorize foreign intelligence collection," Trump tweeted. "This is NOT the same FISA law that was so wrongly abused during the election. I will always do the right thing for our country and put the safety of the American people first!" The Hill reports: Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which the Senate voted to renew with a few small tweaks this week, allows the U.S. to spy on foreigners overseas. The intelligence community says the program is a critical tool in identifying and disrupting terror plots. But the broader surveillance law, which governs U.S. spying on foreigners, has become politically entangled with the controversy over the federal investigation into Trump's campaign and Russia. Some Republicans have claimed that the FBI inappropriately obtained a politically motivated FISA warrant to spy on Trump during the transition and on Friday, Capitol Hill was consumed with speculation about a four-page memo produced by House Intelligence Committee Republicans that some GOP lawmakers hinted contained evidence of such wrongdoing.

5 of 94 comments (clear)

  1. Yeah... by Lunix+Nutcase · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Just signed 702 Bill to authorize foreign intelligence collection," Trump tweeted. "This is NOT the same FISA law that was so wrongly abused during the election.

    Are people really dumb enough to believe this? It’s just as bad as it ever was and still allows warrantless surveillance with pretty much non-existent oversight.

    1. Re:Yeah... by nwaack · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yeah, because the other options were sooooo amazing. This is what happens when the presidential candidates are so bad that people really are voting for a giant douche or a turd sandwich. The "Trump voters are stupid" thing is played out, tired and unoriginal.

    2. Re:Yeah... by alvinrod · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Probably not, but I think a lot of people are just numb to it by now, and to be honest there's no chance that Clinton wouldn't have extended this either so we were getting this shit sandwich regardless of who was elected.

    3. Re:Yeah... by slew · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Just signed 702 Bill to authorize foreign intelligence collection," Trump tweeted. "This is NOT the same FISA law that was so wrongly abused during the election.

      Are people really dumb enough to believe this? It’s just as bad as it ever was and still allows warrantless surveillance with pretty much non-existent oversight.

      Of course it isn't the same. It may be not quite as bad, though according to this summary... But if you are against warrant-less intelligence collection in general, well, it's nothing new in that area, so from that point of view, it is basically the same.

    4. Re:Yeah... by drago177 · · Score: 2

      What legal, practical, reasonable, and achievable action could an individual voter have taken in order to cause a highly desirable additional candidate to emerge?

      I think I agree with you - there is no answer here, we're stuck with 2 parties for now. What should we do? I always say the same thing - vote for the better of the 2. Slowly but surely, you'll push both parties in the right direction. Sorry, but there is no magic wand. Politics has always been messy, will always be messy. People keep acting like we've never seen such craziness before, but politicians used to fight with duels - guns instead of words. And the words were just as harsh back then too.

      I always vote for the best position in the primary, then the best position in the general (usually these are different answers). Try to research individual local candidates. Just do the best research you can. But smart people should not give up. Too many are voting for the guy they'd like to have a beer with or entertains their fantasies with soundbites. Don't leave the decision up to them.