The months-long battle over FISA Section 702 reform legislation introduced by Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) to end warrantless surveillance of Americans and Biden Regime dissidents and the Intelligence Committee’s bill to reauthorize the controversial spying tool seemingly came to an end on Friday when 126 House Republicans joined Democrats to renew the FISA 702 by a vote of 273 to 147.
The final vote on Section 702 of the Foreign Surveillance Act was 273-147, with 126 Republicans in favor of betraying the American people. The legislation was headed to the Democrat-led Senate where it would presumably pass and then be signed into law by Joe Biden.
However, tonight, following a vote on a motion to table, requested by House Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH), the House of Representatives will vote on a motion to reconsider the renewal of FISA 702. Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL) called for reconsideration of the bill after it passed in the House on Friday, which was met with pushback from Turner.
Watch the votes live below.
Recall that Mike Turner, a staunch opponent of FISA reform to end warrantless surveillance of innocent Americans, came under fire earlier this year for sending a letter to colleagues and raising concern over “an urgent matter with regard to a destabilizing foreign military capability that should be known by all Congressional Policy Makers.” According to Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN), who asked Speaker Johnson for an inquiry and possible removal of the House Intelligence Chair from his committee, this was an attempt by Turner to create unfounded worry in pursuit of a “political agenda” to prevent the passage of FISA reform legislation.
Friday’s legislation permits U.S. agencies to monitor foreign targets abroad but has come under scrutiny for its implications and past misuse in surveilling American citizens. The vote displayed a uniparty alliance, with 147 Democrats and 126 Republicans supporting the bill, while 88 Republicans and 59 Democrats opposed it.
Shortly before final passage, the House rejected a commonsense amendment from Rep. Andy Biggs, which would require a warrant to spy on Americans. 86 Republicans voted for authoritarianism, with Speaker Mike Johnson casting the decisive vote.
Biggs’ amendment would end the FBI’s ability to surveil Americans and end the current practice of collecting, storing and digging through Americans’ communications without a warrant.
The Gateway Pundit reported earlier that Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) has not given up following Friday’s disappointing vote by RINOs, Democrats, and Speaker Johnson, sending a letter to all 435 members of Congress on Monday urging them to protect civil liberties, follow the U.S. Constitution and fix the current legislation to make it constitutional.
“I urge all Members of Congress to vote NO on the motion to table the motion to reconsider,” states the letter. “I am specifically asking the 56 Members of Congress who voted for final passage of H.R. 7888, the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act, after supporting and voting for Biggs Amendment #1 to vote NO on the motion to table.”
Recall that official intelligence documents show that the FBI illegally used FISA 278,000 times to spy on Americans, including their political enemies like President Trump, Trump donors, and January 6 families. If Republicans in Congress continue to screw the American people and allow unwarranted search and seizure of our private communications, the Biden Regime and FBI will have renewed authority to spy on Trump and innocent Americans, as they previously did, leading up to the 2024 election.
Andy Biggs called on his colleagues to “vote down the expansion of Biden’s surveillance state” by adding the warrant requirement he previously requested to FISA:
The House has one last chance to vote down the expansion of Biden’s surveillance state.
We cannot reauthorize FISA without a warrant requirement.#KillFISA https://t.co/ltiB3utZ6V
— Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) April 15, 2024
Luna released the following video, where she slammed the two-tiered spy program and its weaponization against Americans on X, commenting, “Today we have an opportunity to #killFISA. IT NEEDS TO BE AMENDED TO REQUIRE A WARRANT FOR SURVEILLANCE. Voting starts at 6:30pm. Please phone your rep and ask them to protect your 4th amendment.”
Luna: [FISA] literally has been responsible and reached, I think, over a quarter of a million times, in addition to the fact that they actually had made carve-outs in this legislation for members of Congress, but not the general population, meaning that if you’re a member of Congress, you’ll be notified by the FBI nicely that you’re being under surveillance. But if you’re a normal person, you’re not, so that’s completely unacceptable.
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), in an interview with Maria Bartoromo this weekend, also slammed Mike Johnson for voting with Democrats again to break the tie and “abdicating the power of the purse” to the Democrats in the latest spending package. “As I see it now, I’m not sure there’s a difference between Mike Johnson being in charge and the Democrats being in charge,” Senator Paul remarked:
Paul: Americans shouldn’t be spied on by their own government. The Fourth Amendment was put in by our founding fathers to protect us. FISA doesn’t obey the Fourth Amendment. And so, Speaker Johnson was incredibly wrong. He broke the tie. He voted with the Democrats. Here we have the leader of the Republicans in the House votes with the Democrats against a warrant requirement. We also have Speaker Johnson voting for the spending package, once again, with a majority of the Democrats. As I see it now, I’m not sure there’s a difference between Mike Johnson being in charge and the Democrats being in charge. The debt, the deficit this year will be $1.5 to $2 trillion, and that’s Mike Johnson’s bill. He put it forward, he supported it with a minority of Republicans with a majority of Democrats. This is not using the power of the purse. This is abdicating the power of the purse.
Per the Washington Examiner:
Monday’s motion to table vote is the culmination of months of infighting within the Republican Party over how to reform the key surveillance program. Though House Judiciary Committee members and other privacy hawks secured wins with a two-year sunset and a stand-alone vote on Rep. Warren Davidson’s (R-OH) bill, the Fourth Amendment is Not For Sale Act, sometime this week, House Intelligence Committee members and national security allies ultimately secured victory with no warrant requirements and a mostly-agreed upon base text.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) faced severe backlash for the Biggs amendment, as the House tied 212 to 212, causing the amendment to fail. Many members accused the speaker of being a “tiebreaker” vote, despite his office claiming he was not the last member to vote on the amendment.
How the vote on the motion to table swings could impact whether the House needs to prepare for another FISA vote and whether Johnson needs to prepare for a possible motion to vacate. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) had said ahead of the vote that her decision on whether to move forward with the motion would depend on Johnson’s approach to FISA and Ukraine aid.
Watch the House vote live below at 6:30 pm E.T.:
The post WATCH LIVE: House Votes on Motion to Reconsider FISA Authorization Allowing Warrantless Spying on Americans After Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) Sends Letter to Colleagues Urging Support to Kill FISA appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.