Drawing attention to the testimony of FBI Director Christopher Wray in his responses to Representative Darin LaHood.
Representative LaHood is leading an internal congressional review of the FISA “702” reauthorization. During the testimony, LaHood waxes philosophically about the importance of FISA-702 targeting as a tool for the FBI while simultaneously outlining how the FBI is weaponizing the tool. At 06:24 of the video below, LaHood goes on to outline the details of the NSA noncompliance report showing how the FBI intentionally targeted him, likely because he is leading the 702 reauthorization group.
The irony here is thick. The FBI illegally uses 702 search queries, and in the example of LaHood, it is demonstrable targeting because the search query was only for his name, so there can be no claim of “inadvertent” search result. Simultaneously, FBI Director Chris Wray states the number of illegal FBI searches of the database is 84% improved year-over-year. In essence, the FBI is saying they are breaking the law 84% fewer times. WATCH:
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Well beyond the “cell phone metadata,” in the era of your portable transponder having internet and social media connection, just about everyone has metadata connected to a foreign person or entity. Use the Twitter app on your phone, you are connected to foreign entities. Use Instagram or Facebook, WhatsApp or Telegram, same/same/same/same.
TicTok? Fughetaboudit. The auspices of only looking at U.S. persons engaged in foreign contacts is totally moot.
The “702 authorities,” which is an innocuous term for a “U.S. Person“, permit DHS, DOJ, FBI and any national security apparatchik to open up your data and check you out. This is the reality of the modern era. This total surveillance reauthorization is what the SSCI wants to permit. It must be stopped completely. It cannot be “reformed.”
4th Amendment – “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
Either you are secure from federal search of your “private papers,” as outlined in the United States Constitution, or you are not.
There is no aspect of this “702” nonsense, where a secret court grants a secret authorization, to engage in secret surveillance, by some secret entity of government – which might be a contractor, just to “see if” you might be doing something suspicious, or against the interests of the federal government. The premise behind “702” reauthorization is unconstitutional.
The Patriot Act was maybe the worst idea to come from the Bush Gang among a lot of bad ideas. Then along came the Obama/Holder Gang to weaponize the Government against his opponents by using FISA warrants to spy on American citizens. The Communists finally had an opening to destroy our Constitution, so they have used it. And, We the People didn’t know what happened. Not the way to keep our Republic, I say.
I will never forget when the Patriot Act came up for a vote I thought it was a terrible idea. It was ripe for misuse.
I’m also against taking off your shoes and full body scans, etc to get on a plane.
When you think of all they ways government does things in the name of “safety,” really all they’re doing is making you less free and often not safer.
When you look back at it, 911 was a practice for the Covid crisis. Both took away our rights by force.
With 911, I refused to think that our government would do such a thing to us, but after Covid, I am forced to reaccess that.
Do it, no. Allow it?
The big difference between Bush and Obama is under Bush, there was still an understandng that the power was not to be abused. It was abused, of course – but it was discouraged.
Obama, on the other hand, had no such qualms. Finding new ways to abuse the powers was the raison d’etre for Obama appointees.
At the time we were told that “terrorism” was the greatest threat and Patriot Act was vital to “connect the dots”. Likewise nonsense about an “axis of evil”. To oppose it meant being accused of being a crazed lefty, who probably hated Israel as well.
Always consider, this was written long before it was implemented. Ten of thousands of pages, ready so fast?
It is almost as if they needed a situation to arise, to force it through.
( cough cough…..9/11….ahem….)
Nah couldnt be… 😉
Bingo! Almost like the legislation was sitting around waiting for the ‘right type of crisis’ to come along that allowed the FedGov to grant itself more power/control over the American people…under the guise of National Security.
When you allow unrestricted illegal immigration, an even those legal ones are not people who embrace what America was founded on, you ultimately destroy the country, every aspect of it. Import the third world become the third world.
Actually, the worst idea from the “Bush” gang was when George Herbert Walker Bush and his wife Barbara decided to have children.
Darin Lahood is the offspring of that great bipartisan republican congressman from Illinois, Ray Lahood, who served as Barack Hussein Obama’s Secretary of Transportation during Hussein’s first term; just saying, because I don’t believe in bipartisanship the way republicans have practiced it.
So… who was Obama’s Secretary of Transportation during it’s second term, & what was its party affiliation.? What are you hoping to imply, and why?
While I can’t speak for huecowacko, I’ll take a stab at answering your second two-part question.
Hoping to imply: That LaHood is a RINO.
Why: Because it’s true.
I agree that both Ray and Darin LaHood are RINOs.
Another RINO.
Darin LaHood gets a “C” rating and liberty score of 71% from Conservative Review. That is a lot better score than McCarthy or Scalise who both got an “F’ rating!
When FILTHY LIBERALS like Chris Wray can just open “investigations” so as to avoid Oversight, this abuse will always continue…”I can’t comment on existing Investigations” blah blah blah.
You CANNOT reform FISA, nor the FBI. It is an afront to a free Society and must be abolished. Notice they uptalk how great it is at helping with “Terrorism” whatever they want that to mean. It is literally a Secret Court and should be illegal.
Terrorism used to mean external threats, now it means MAGA is the Threat, or Protesting Moms at School Boards. Abolish the FBI and let State Agencies perform this function.
Just a disgrace.
Christopher Wray’s character is as obvious as the stripes on a skunk.
Has the FBI identified those folks it obtained privacy info illegally and notified same?
Have they disclosed the four companies who had access to this info illegally?
Did FBI determine the usage and destruction of this privacy info?
Until this info is released and those harmed have some remedy, the FBI and these companies should have zero access to US citizens privacy data.
Imagine being the Head of a Law Enforcement Agency and stating publicly under oath your illegal activity has dropped by~85%!!, now with only ~15% illegal activity?
He should be publicly shamed and fired the next day.
Not so long ago, this is what would have happened.
Rep. LaHood is right of course. It’s just unfortunate that he had to have it happen to him, to make him realize it …
And the funny thing is that Darin LaHood is from a big RINO family that served in the Obama cabinet. Then RINOs think if they play the game, they will be safe from attack!
I don’t know anyone who trusts the FBI.
All of the alphabet agencies and the justice system have been compromised. No UN agendas 21, 30 or any other year, No WHO takeover, No WEF, No New World Order Madness, No Communism, No Globalism, No Democratic Socialism, NO TYRANNY! Time to get rid of all the globalist enabling pos traitors and restore The Republic, The Constitution and The Rule of Law. Patriotism, Integrity and God given rights ensured by The Constitution. Faith over fear and Freedom over Tyranny!
No doubt the fbi criminals referenced got promoted or a stern talking to.
Termination and loss of pension benefits should be the minimum penalty.
Garland is a snake.
Just once, I would like to see any of these stiffs just ask the right questions or frame it in the way it should be framed; “Mr. Wray, so there is an 84% decrease in the illegal activity by the FBI from the prior period, so are you saying your agents raped 84% less people than last year? Illegal is Illegal….Pathetic!
I’m sure Director Wray is very proud. He himself broke the law 654 times in 2021, but in 2022 he only broke the law 105 times. That he was caught for, anyhow.
Illinois Congressman Darin LaHood is part of the Illinois Republican Party’s globalist, neocon, corporatist, RINO establishment just like his father Ray LaHood is.
The Illinois GOP establishment also includes / included former U.S. senator Mark Kirk and former governors Jim Thompson, Jim Edgar, George Ryan, and Bruce Rauner.
Former U.S. Senate candidates Kathy and Al Salvi and former gubernatorial primary candidate Richard Irvin are also part of this group.
The ILGOP establishment are a bunch of liberal, impotent losers who spend most of their free time fraternizing with each other out of state in Lake Geneva, WI. Interestingly, this is where the Illinois Democratic Party establishment likes to hang out as well.
Both the Republican and Democratic Party establishment like to infringe on our liberties under the guise of “protecting” us as Darin LaHood is doing here with FISA-702.
I support the concept of law and order as well as stopping and punishing criminals, but I don’t support doing so in a way that erodes the liberties of law abiding citizens as FISA-702 does.
FISA-702 violates the Fourth Amendment’s protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.
Interestingly, many of the people who support FISA-702 under the guise of being for law and order don’t really care about law and order at all. This is evidenced by the many politicians, mainly Democrats, who are very soft and permissive on crime.
Darin LaHood is likely the sort of RINO who supports the Patriot Act and the onerous TSA security process that flyers are subjected to at airports.
Evil flourishes when good men do nothing.
The signs were everywhere.
Now we and generations to come have been robbed of our Republic.
God Help Us