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Thursday, November 21, 2024

Rep. Tiffany: 'One of my top priorities this Congress is getting to the bottom of the rampant weaponization of our federal agencies.'

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Congressman Tom Tiffany (WI-07) | house.gov

Congressman Tom Tiffany (WI-07) | house.gov

Congressman Tom Tiffany has expressed his support for the Protect Liberty and End Warrantless Surveillance Act (PLEWSA), underscoring the necessity of requiring warrants for searches of U.S. citizens under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Tiffany's endorsement of this bipartisan bill arises from concerns about government overreach and aims to safeguard constitutional rights.

Representative Tom Tiffany, a Congressman at the U.S. House of Representatives, expressed his concerns earlier this year. He stated, "Earlier this year I told you that one of my top priorities this Congress is getting to the bottom of the rampant weaponization of our federal agencies and federal bureaucrats’ abuse of power over the American people, specifically in our intelligence agencies, like the FBI, DOJ, and DHS". He continued by saying, "You would think with a name like the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, it would be used for gathering foreign intelligence". However, he noted that "Unfortunately, you would be wrong". In his concluding remarks, Tiffany pointed out some issues within the FBI: "It’s no secret that the FBI in particular has picked up some bad habits over the past few years, from classifying concerned parents as "domestic terrorists" for speaking out at school board meetings, to intimidating whistleblowers, and spying on American citizens private communications without a warrant."

According to a press release by Tiffany's office, FISA allows interception of communications from non-U.S. citizens abroad but often includes Americans' communications which are stored by intelligence agencies and accessed without warrants. In 2021 alone, there were 3.4 million warrantless searches conducted on Americans by the FBI.

The Hill reported an unsealed FISA order revealing repeated misuse by the FBI of a surveillance tool during investigations into events such as the Jan. 6 insurrection in 2021 and protests in 2020. This led to thousands of Section 702 violations permitting government collection of foreign individuals' communications. These violations, addressed by the FBI in mid-2021, were made public and have invited increased scrutiny, potentially complicating the agency's surveillance program reauthorization.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center states that key reforms under PLEWSA include mandating warrants for searches of Americans' communications gathered through Section 702, strengthening oversight within the FISA Court to prevent misuse of surveillance authority, ceasing "abouts" collection under Section 702, and integrating the Fourth Amendment Is Not for Sale Act. This prevents agencies from exploiting the Data Broker Loophole to procure sensitive information like location data.

Tiffany's office released a statement saying that PLEWSA received a bipartisan vote of 35-2 in the House Judiciary Committee, a development that Tiffany supports.

According to Ballotpedia, Tom Tiffany is a Republican representing Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District. He assumed office in May 2020 and his current term ends on January 3, 2025. He has declared his candidacy for re-election in the Republican primary scheduled for August 13, 2024. Prior to his current role, Tiffany served in the Wisconsin State Senate from 2013 to 2020.

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