My dearest friends, I have not spent a decade focusing on FISA or the ‘702’ issues because defeating the pending surveillance state has been the priority; that is an ancillary matter against powerful financial interests.

No, the core of my focus has always been on what FISA (702) represents.

FISA (702) et al, is a tool, a key per se’. A key that unlocks a data library. We debate control of the key, but do not spend enough time focusing on the data library itself and what it represents.

I’m not even sure if President Donald Trump is fully aware of this or not, but I am generally confident that DC insiders understand the potential.

The NSA database is essentially a library of information about activity. It is a storage box of metadata and within that data there is a sub-set, a flow of information related to election activity.

Behind that part of the issue, with that thought in mind, you now have an expanded perspective of why the ODNI would be involved in election type investigative activity. The DNI is above the NSA Director. The ODNI is an access point to the data library. Tulsi Gabbard as DNI has a vested interest in all the data housed within that vault.

Congress stood jaw agape at the appearance of DNI Gabbard in Fulton County, Georgia, without actually recognizing what stakeholder interests are represented by the content in Fulton County election warehouses.

Essentially, the NSA data vault shows XXX activity, and the factual paperwork supporting XXX exists in physical warehouses. The data is within a digital library. The factual paperwork is on the ground.

Now, pause for a moment and understand the digital library is one aspect. Access to that digital library is an entirely different kettle o’ fish.

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Keep in mind the FISA (702) extension already passed the House, and the bill is sitting in the Senate where the ever-predictable John Thune is not bringing it up for a vote.

This morning the House tried to pass a short-term FISA (702) extension for three weeks (ending July 2). The measure failed by a vote of 218 to 198.  In addition to Democrats, nineteen republicans also voted against it.

The Democrats are claiming their lack of support surrounds the appointment of Bill Pulte as Acting DNI effective June 19, and their concern that Pulte will weaponize the FISA (702) authority to conduct political surveillance.  Yes, it’s a rather hypocritical projection within their claim.

[SOURCE]

Now, you might ask yourself…. where in the world would the Democrats get the idea that FISA (702) would be used to get “dirt on President Trump’s political enemies.”   What would lead them to that suspicion?

As customary, the radical leftists are projecting based on their own conduct.  This is the same “702” authority that Barack Obama and Joe Biden previously used to do exactly that political surveillance.  We have outlined the entire operation in granular detail citing all of the FISA records that showed exactly what the Obama-Biden group were doing.

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According to The Gateway Pundit there are five names being debated for permanent DNI {SEE HERE}.

Qualifying any comment by saying this is entirely speculation, a few have asked me for opinion.

Gateway Pundit posits the names: GOP Representative Elise Stefanik, GOP Representative Rick Crawford, current Deputy Director of the CIA Michael Ellis, Vice President JD Vance’s national security adviser Cliff Sims, and former GOP Rep Jason Chaffetz.

Names not mentioned in that article include former HPSCI Chairman Devin Nunes or former Representative now U.S. Attorney for North Carolina Dan Bishop.

Without being fully transparent about how I am reaching my perspective, here’s my take on these names.

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Articulate focus with specific intent can pay dividends.  Sorry for my absence earlier today. I can confirm the first sentence, between the commas.

Against the backdrop of threats from various legislative branch members, President Donald Trump has doubled down and firmly announced that Bill Pulte will take the position of Acting DNI effective June 19th ( 😂 aka ‘Juneteenth’).

Delivering the message from his Truth Social account, President Trump has extended his plenary power and put Congress back into the position they hold in government.   If Congress wants FISA (702), then reauthorize it.  If they don’t want it, then don’t reauthorize it.  The issue matters not to the overall national security dynamic.

[SOURCE]

Kash Patel better prepare to get busy.  It’s time to put up or shut up.  If the FBI carries out a false flag operation (they’d be stupid), or if the CIA attempts to undermine the domestic national security front (they won’t), there is going to be an intense response from Trump and Pulte.

Great job President Donald Trump!

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After reading the umpteenth article [example here] from congressional voices talking about what President Trump needs to do in order for the legislative branch to reauthorize FISA (702), it’s worth reminding everyone how we accept goofy just because goofy has become the norm.

The FISA (702) issue belongs entirely to the legislative branch. It is their work product. It is their enacted law, albeit with an expiration date.  The executive branch has nothing to do with the law.  If congress doesn’t reauthorize a law they have enacted, that’s on the legislative branch – not the executive branch.

The legislative branch enacted a law; it could be unconstitutional and has never been tested in the Supreme Court.  However, it is their law.  If the same legislative branch allows the law to expire, that’s entirely their choice.  The executive branch can do nothing to reauthorize a law that is entirely in the purview of the legislative branch.

President Trump should not accept the legislative branch dysfunction as if it is his problem to solve.  It’s not his monkey.

Somehow the baseline of responsibility has been permitted to shift from the Legislative Branch to the Executive Branch, and the media are apparently clueless about how the separation of powers actually functions.  Even if the Executive Branch wanted to reauthorize it, they can’t.

Somewhere in our modern discussions of things, we have lost sight of the roles and responsibilities within government.

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**BUMPED**

The authority for the United States government to capture the electronic records of all Americans without warrant falls under the auspices of FISA-702.  Reauthorization of the current authority is being debated.  This is a deep walk into why this issue is so important to our government.

Having researched almost every aspect to the construct and the argument, I am confident FISA-702 authority underpins a much bigger, quasi-constitutional justification for the collection of U.S. citizen metadata.  Without the 702 authority the legal justification for the apparatus of surveillance no longer exists.  It really is that simple.

It is not the just the illegal searching of the NSA database that presents the issue, although that aspect has received the majority of attention, the capture itself violates the Fourth Amendment. The only way the government can justify the capture of U.S. Citizen data is if there is some quasi-constitutional or national security reason for it.  That’s where FISA-702 comes in.

Take away “702” search authority, and the data collection argument collapses. Any “incidental” search of the database then loses any plausible legal justification.  702 is the camel’s nose under the privacy tent that forms the baseline for all data records to be intercepted, stored and ultimately available for review.

♦ Only one legal case has ever pushed into the sphere of challenging this unconstitutional exploitation. A 2025 decision in the U.S. v. Hasbajrami in Brooklyn, New York, where Eastern District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall identified the misuse of FISA-702 “backdoor searches” regarding defendant, Agron Hasbajrami.

Hasbajrami plead guilty to charges of attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization, alleging that he intended to travel to the Federally Administered Tribal Area of Pakistan, where he expected to join a terrorist organization, receive training, and ultimately fight against U.S. forces and others in Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, after his guilty plea, while he is serving time in prison, prosecutors admitted some of the evidence against him came as a result of privacy violations, unlawful FISA-702 searches.

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Representative Jim Himes is the ranking Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI).  During an interview on Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan, Himes looks forward to the political benefit he predicts following terrorist attacks inside the USA as soon as the FISA (702) program expires next Friday.

Elimination of FISA (702) authority is not a bad outcome; in fact, many of us want that outcome because FISA (702) is warrantless surveillance of American citizens.  However, watching Himes be gleeful at the possibility of terrorist attacks resulting from FISA (702) expiring, is, well, a little weird.

In the non-pretending world, we fully understand a terrorist attack is highly unlikely. However, if there was a terrorist attack, it would likely originate from our own intelligence community organizing it in an effort to get FISA (702) authorized again.  It’s far more likely the FBI would be motivated to create a false flag, than the odds of an actual terrorist attack.

[TRANSCRIPT] –  MARGARET BRENNAN: We turn now to the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, Representative Jim Himes, who joins us this morning from Greenwich, Connecticut. Welcome back to Face the Nation.

REP. JIM HIMES: Good to be with you, Margaret.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Congressman, President Trump appointed the Federal Housing Finance Agency head, Bill Pulte, to be the next Director of National Intelligence. The President said it is temporary, but even in that acting role, he could stay in it for over 200 days, and it would bypass Congressional approval. Pulte himself was Senate-confirmed for the housing job. Three Democrats voted for him. Do you know if he has a security clearance to do the intelligence work?

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Many are perplexed; however, don’t overthink it.

President Trump has announced Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence, via a Truth Social post earlier today:

PRESIDENT TRUMP –  “I am appointing the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Chairman of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, William J. Pulte, to serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence. William has deep experience managing the most sensitive matters in America, the safety and soundness of the Markets, and over 10 Trillion Dollars at Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, a substantial increase from where it was just 12 months ago. During this period, he will remain Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Chairman of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac. Congratulations to Director Pulte!” ~ President DONALD J. TRUMP

In the context of what has taken place in the past 16 months, from CTH perspective an ‘acting’ position in this specific role is essentially a placeholder position.  Pulte placed as acting DNI, perhaps (my guess) in lieu of a permanent appointment that cannot yet be made due to other factors.

Deputy DNI Aaron Lucas remains in place.  Within the construct of the DNI office, Lucas remaining as Deputy actually facilitates the installation of a placeholder that would otherwise not be possible because legislative regulations and preferences on the DNI post are specifically designed to favor only nominations with background experience in military intelligence and/or long-term intelligence status.  {See 50 U.S. Code § 3026}

When congress created the ODNI they outlined: “under ordinary circumstances, it is desirable” that either the director or the principal deputy director of national intelligence be an active-duty commissioned officer in the armed forces or have training or experience in military intelligence activities and requirements.  {Go Deep} Also remember, President Trump (T1) was the first administration to elevate the DNI to a cabinet level position. Biden retained that status.

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The Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) is Congressman Rick Crawford from Arkansas CD-01. Coincidentally the same state as Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman, Tom Cotton.

In a preview of an upcoming (June 1) podcast interview with talk show host Paul Harrell, HPSCI Chairman Crawford discusses the departure of DNI Tulsi Gabbard and the role she played within the aggregate intelligence apparatus.  You might find some of Chairman’s remarks to be familiar. WATCH:

This is a preview of our interview with House Intel Chair Rick Crawford that airs in full on Monday June 1st on LFATV and @PaulTalkShow Youtube channel. Congressman Crawford revealed that the ODNI doesn’t have it’s own computer system and has always relied on CIA systems. This… pic.twitter.com/KX1rt7Bx2l

— RealPaulHarrell (@RealPaulHarrell) May 29, 2026

[Compare to BACKSTORY HERE]

Keep in mind that Rick Crawford is the chairman of the House intelligence committee and a gang-of-eight oversight member.

Inch by inch, folks. Inch by inch.

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Against the backdrop of Tulsi Gabbard resigning her position as Director of National Intelligence, there is an opportunity to explain how the Washington DC Intelligence Community functions in real life.

ODNI Tulsi Gabbard has rightly been receiving a lot of praise for her efforts at removing the shroud of secrecy that is often used by an intensely territorial IC network.  Simultaneously, she has received criticism or what Machiavelli called, “the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old institution”; because, in reality Tulsi Gabbard might be considered the first functional DNI.

One of the reasons Tulsi Gabbard was effective was her willingness to answer this question:

It was DNI Tulsi Gabbard who released the receipts showing how the CIA and IC ran an impeachment operation against President Trump.  CIA operative Eric Ciarmella, ICIG Michael Atkinson and HPSCI Chairman Adam Schiff all collaboratively involved.

Here it becomes more important for the next sequence of events to fully understand what it was about Tulsi Gabbard in the position of DNI that made such a big difference.  What was it about her approach to the office of the DNI that made Gabbard stand out?  This is a discussion worth having.

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