Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, told Newsmax on Tuesday that Republicans are starting to lay the legislative framework to protect Americans’ civil liberties through reforming Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which will be up for reauthorization next year.
“We are one year away from the 702 program of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, when that comes up for reauthorization, and I want to make sure we get a warrant requirement in there,” Jordan told “The Record With Greta Van Susteren.” “This giant database of information gets put together when our government is rightfully spying and surveilling foreigners, but what happens when they do that is they pick up Americans, as well.
“And what we’ve said is: If you’re going to go search that database, you’re going to use an American’s name, phone number, email address. You go to a separate and equal branch of government and get a probable-cause warrant. That’s how our great system works.
“You want to look at someone’s stuff? Go get a warrant from a judge to do so. And we want to make sure we win on that issue over the next year when that thing comes up for reauthorization,” he said.
Last year, efforts at reforming Section 702 failed after a vote cast by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., resulted in a 212-212 tie.
“We want to make sure we win on that issue over the next year when that thing comes up for reauthorization, because, as you know, we lost, unfortunately, 212-212. And I learned a long time ago, winning beats losing,” he said.
“I hate to lose. And so we’ve got to win that thing. And we’re starting early.”
Jordan said he was encouraged by a ruling in December by U.S. District Judge LaShann Moutique DeArcy Hall, a Barack Obama appointee, of the Eastern District of New York that warrantless queries — or searches — conducted under Section 702 violated the Fourth Amendment.
“We think we’re on stronger ground as we make this argument over the next year, and I’m hopeful that we can win this thing next year,” Jordan said. “We’re starting to lay that groundwork because we know how this works in Congress. It’s going to be a long, hard fight.”
The Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance held a hearing earlier Tuesday during which civil libertarians and conservative legal scholars painted an alarming picture of broader federal surveillance. The hearing was part of a congressional initiative to scrutinize federal surveillance programs and their impact on U.S. citizens, with a goal of greater transparency and accountability by government agencies.
Jordan said opponents of reforms on warrantless searches believe it will slow the federal government’s intelligence efforts, especially when facing an imminent national security threat.
“Guess what we did? We said if there’s exigent circumstances, there’s an imminent threat, OK, you can go ahead,” he said.
“In some ways, I thought we gave too much, frankly. But they [were] still like, ‘Oh, that’s not enough. We’ve got to be able to do this.’
“Big government always wants to convenient route to get what they want, not so much worried about our liberties. Our founders understood,” Jordan said.
“No, no, no, no. We have a Bill of Rights. We have a Constitution designed to protect those fundamental rights we got from the good Lord. … That is the big distinction here.”
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