WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st March, 2023) The White House has called for Congress to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows for warrantless surveillance on foreigners, including when they interact with Americans, according to a release.
"The Biden-Harris Administration strongly supports the reauthorization by Congress of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a vital intelligence collection authority, which the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence conveyed today in a joint letter to congressional leadership," National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a release.
Sullivan called Section 702 "a cornerstone of US national security" and "an invaluable tool that continues to protect Americans every day and is crucial to ensuring that US defense, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies can respond to threats from the People's Republic of China, Russia, nefarious cyber actors, terrorists, and those who seek to harm our critical infrastructure."
Sullivan added that he had assigned Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer to coordinate the reauthorization effort for the White House, which would work closely with the Department of Justice, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and other Federal partners to lobby Congress.
Later in the day, Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen said failure to renew 702 will put US troops directly at risk.
"Without 702, we will lose indispensable intelligence for our decision makers and warfighters, as well as those of our allies. And we have no fallback authority that could come close to making up for that loss," Olsen said in remarks at the Brookings Institution.
