Thread by @LizaGoitein

If you care about the First Amendment, please stop everything and read this @WIRED article. Tl;dr: House intelligence committee (HPSCI) members are blocking reforms to FISA Section 702 *because they want the FBI to spy on American protesters.* 1/20 wired.com/story/hpsci-us…

A bit of background (skip to tweet 10 if you’re up to speed on 702!): Section 702 authorizes warrantless surveillance and therefore can only be targeted at foreigners overseas. But it inevitably sweeps in enormous volumes of Americans’ communications. 2/20

Despite Congress’s mandate to “minimize” the retention and use of Americans’ information, the government routinely searches through Section 702-acquired data for the express purpose of finding and reviewing Americans’ phone calls, text messages, and emails. 3/20

Astonishingly, the FISA Court has deemed these “backdoor searches” legal so long as they are reasonably likely to return foreign intelligence or evidence of a crime. But the FBI has engaged in “persistent and widespread” violations (per the court) of that low standard. 4/20

Documented abuses include searches for members of Congress, journalists, 19,000 donors to a congressional campaign… and tens of thousands of Americans engaged in “civil unrest,” including at least 141 Black Lives Matter protesters. 5/20

Members of Congress have vowed not to reauthorize Section 702 (it expires in April) without significant reforms, most notably, a requirement that the government obtain a warrant before searching Section 702 data for Americans’ communications. 6/20

Most HPSCI members, however, are surveillance hawks. They know they can’t get away with a straight reauthorization, so they have come up with legislation that pretends to implement reforms while actually *expanding* surveillance. 7/20 brennancenter.org/our-work/resea…

Moreover, in recent weeks, HPSCI leaders have engaged in decidedly underhanded behavior—including disclosing intelligence about a Russian military program and reneging on a deal with the Speaker—to block members from voting on real reforms. 8/20 brennancenter.org/our-work/analy…

Until now, one might have charitably chalked up their behavior to a belief that 702 abuses could be controlled without a warrant (despite evidence to the contrary) or that abuses are the necessary price of national security (also demonstrably false). 9/20 brennancenter.org/our-work/resea…

What we learned today is that HPSCI leadership is opposing a warrant requirement, not DESPITE the fact that backdoor searches are being abused to spy on protesters, but BECAUSE of that fact. The abuses ARE THE POINT. 10/20

As @WIRED reports, HPSCI Chair Mike Turner led off closed-door briefings with Republican staff, designed to stoke opposition to a warrant requirement for backdoor searches, with slides showing ceasefire protesters sitting quietly on the street outside Sen. Schumer’s house. 11/20

The protesters are sitting cross-legged, arms linked. Their mouths are closed. Passersby walk behind them, unmolested. One cannot imagine a more peaceful protest than the one depicted in this slide. 12/20 s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2447…

So where’s the threat? Another slide depicts a Tweet from Matthew Foldi claiming that Samidoun, a group Germany suspects (according to Foldi) of being “a Hamas front group,” is directing followers to attend a protest at Sen. Schumer’s house. 13/20

Who is Matthew Foldi? A failed Republican congressional candidate in his mid-twenties. Is Samidoun a terrorist group? It appears nowhere on the U.S. government’s list of designated foreign terrorist organizations. … 14/20 state.gov/foreign-terror…

...What evidence does Foldi cite of Samidoun’s involvement in the protest? A link to a tweet by Norm Finkelstein, a prominent Jewish academic known for his criticism of Israel. Finkelstein’s tweet doesn’t mention Samidoun. 15/20

So, in short, what Turner is saying is that if an ideological opponent trolls a political protest on Twitter with unsupported accusations of vague connections, the FBI should be able to search for and read protesters’ emails and text messages without a warrant. 16/20

Progressives aren’t the only ones who should be deeply alarmed by this. After all, the FBI conducted impermissible queries aimed at tens of thousands of people associated with a group suspected of involvement in the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. 17/20

If any lawmakers were still on the fence and waiting for a smoking gun, THIS IS IT. Turner has made the stakes crystal clear. A vote to reauthorize Section 702 without a warrant requirement is a vote to allow the FBI to keep tabs on protesters exercising 1st Amdt rights. 18/20

HPSCI leaders are reportedly trying to persuade congressional leaders to slip a Section 702 reauthorization into one of the upcoming funding bills. As the @BrennanCenter + dozens of other organizations have urged those leaders: this must not happen. 19/20 brennancenter.org/our-work/resea…

RT if you agree: Lawmakers must be given the opportunity to vote on Section 702 reforms, including a warrant requirement and other critical protections for Americans’ civil liberties. Our First Amendment rights depend on it. @SenSchumer @SpeakerJohnson 20/20