Secret FISA court issues highly unusual public rebuke of FBI for mistakes
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
WASHINGTON — The secret federal court that approves orders for conducting surveillance on suspected foreign terrorists or spies issued a strong and highly unusual public rebuke to the FBI on Tuesday, ordering the agency to say how it intends to correct the errors revealed last week by a Justice Department report on one aspect of the FBI's investigation of Donald Trump's 2016 campaign.
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz said the FBI made serious and repeated mistakes in seeking under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, to conduct surveillance of Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser.
The FBI's submission to the court made assertions that were "inaccurate, incomplete, or unsupported by appropriate documentation," the report said.
Rosemary Collyer, presiding judge on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, said in the unusual public order that the report "calls into question whether information contained in other FBI applications is reliable." She ordered the FBI to explain in writing by Jan. 10 how it intends to remedy those problems.
Collyer said the FBI's handling of the Page case "was antithetical to the heightened duty of candor" required by the law that established the surveillance court. Judges on the court rely entirely on the government's submissions. Because they are the only documents the court sees, the government has a heightened duty of candor, she
Her order said the FBI must explain "what it has done, and plans to do, to ensure the statements of facts in each FBI application accurately and completely reflects information possessed by the FBI."
Inspector General Michael Horowitz said last week that he has already opened a new review, looking at whether the FBI is complying with its duty to provide accurate information to the FISA court in seeking to conduct surveillance of Americans in terrorism and spying investigations.
FBI Director Christopher Wray announced shortly after the inspector general's report was issued that he has ordered changes in how the FBI submits requests to the FISA court.
"The FBI has some work to do," he said.
In response to Tuesday’s order, the FBI said in a statement that it is committed to working with the FISA court and the Justice Department to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the process. "FISA is an indispensable tool in national security investigations," the FBI said.
The FISA court, established by Congress, consists of 11 federal judges chosen by the Supreme Court's chief justice and meets in secret in a federal courthouse in Washington. It has long been criticized by civil libertarians who consider it simply an arm of the government and not sufficiently independent.
"This was not the first time the government abused its surveillance powers, nor was it the first time the intelligence court was made aware of surveillance abuses," said Neema Singh Guliani of the ACLU. "Congress must radically reform the FISA process to increase accountability, and to ensure that there is a meaningful opportunity to challenge the government's allegations in FISA applications. We can't trust the secret intelligence court alone to police this process."
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The FISA courts reprimand the FBI, say it isn't so. They must all be Trumpers.
The FISA Court gets part of the blame. They got in the habit of rubber stamping whatever the FBI submitted. Approved applications for a FISA warrant were in the 90 percentile. Naturally the FBI felt they could use the Steele Dossier as some kind of pretext to get a FISA warrant. Remember when we first heard that the Dossier was used to get a FISA warrant? Our progressive friends first were silent. When the facts came out they tried to claim the Dossier was credible. Then when those arguments were shot down they recited what James Comey said - that the Dossier was only part of what was used to get the warrants. McCabe told the truth in closed door testimony. He said that without the BS Dossier there wouldn't have been any warrants. He was right. The Horowitz Report confirms it!
After they got their warrants the FBI did eveything they could to prove collusion with Russia. They tried everything. It just wasn't there. So far they have gotten off painlessly.
It calls into question every FISA warrant ever issued.
Yet, Comey told Chris Wallace in his interview this past weekend that FISA warrants are extremely difficult to obtain. Just another lie out of Comey's mouth.
Really destroys the credibility of EVERYTHING the democrats have done since the election. Imagine if it were determined that because it was screwed up from the start, nothing is admissible for anything. (Like there is proof of anything in the first place.)
Trump's existence in the office of the president is the biggest scandal in American history. There isnt even a second place.
Not that a game show host won, although is ridiculously bizarre. But that America elected someone who was a liar, crook, bigot and moron AT THE TIME OF THE ELECTION. If that isnt scandalous, nothing is.
Poor John - getting to ya, huh? Unfortunately, the scandal is coming from the losers, and their turn is soon to come.
The seed is about FISA abuse, seek help for your TDS.
I believe his TDS is so severe and so far advanced that only a brain transplant would be an effective cure.
Maybe we should send him home with hospice?
Your hero, poor soul.
Sorry, JR, I don't have heroes at my age. I outgrew that childish shit about 50 years ago.
Of course, I don't let my disgust and hatred of anything rule my life, either.
Perhaps one day you'll get here.
I still have one...
Sergeant Alvin Cullum York
You could come up with some new and original comments JR, instead of lazily recycling the old bullet points.
All of us knew we were getting an imperfect candidate, but we also already knew Hillary was a liar, crook, bigot, and moron long before election day.
The choice was easy.
yepp, and that is just the fisa abuse...
which, is only a small piece of a much bigger very corrupt game that went all the way to the top.
regular popcorn is not good enough for what we are watching.
this movie requires only the best popcorn
Now now. Everybody calm down. I'm sure this is a one-off. An isolated incident. A fluke. People in public service are inherently people of integrity and I'm sure there is no reason to be skeptical of anything else the government does.
/s
not good enough. some words don't cut it.
this was no "accident" big names have to go to jail.
Since this happened under the Obama Administration and his FBI/DOJ ... and Hillary's also involved, damn straight this wasn't about "mistakes".
Can someone explain why, exactly, we need a Star Chamber?