Republicans Are Ridiculous on FISA Spying-on-Trump Posturing

Amid concerns about President* Trump's ongoing threat to fundamental rights, as noted by Emma Kohse at Lawfare, the U.S. Senate "voted 65 to 34 to extend FISA Section 702, [communications surveillance], authorities for six years on Thursday, one day before the temporary authorization was set to expire. The House passed the reauthorization measure on Jan. 11," signed by Trump this afternoon.

The bill is S.139, FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017 — 115th Congress (2017-2018).

What's seems improbable is how quickly congressional members voice grave concern about rights and then vote for FISA, (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act), anyway.

Notes Glenn Greenwald:

Amazing this bill to increase spying powers and block safeguards was passed by 1) Republicans who have spent a year warning of the corruption of the Deep State and 2) Dems who spent the year saying that officials who get this power - Trump and Sessions - are racist tyrants and traitors https://t.co/0dAXgtrvgg

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) January 19, 2018

Whatever the merits of the FISA, Trump, Republicans, and most Democrats in Congress do offer credible concerns.

Linked are Senate Roll Call Vote on FISA Amendments Reauthorization Act of 2017.

Meanwhile, Republicans continued ridiculous posturing today that Trump is a victim of surveillance by the Deep State and the Republican-led House has the intelligence memo to prove this, though Republicans refuse to make public their secret memo.

Such posturing earlier prompted Greenwald to ridicule:

This makes no sense for multiple reasons: 1) your dod could declassify the docs, which he should do if they really show pervasive criminality & spying abuses; 2) it's not "stooping" to reveal high-level crimes; it's a duty; 3) refusal to release this suggests it's all bullshit. https://t.co/c1mhXVHPwu

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) January 19, 2018