Mark Meadows: ‘Shame’ on Lawmakers that Vote for a Clean Reauthorization of FISA Without Reform

Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) said on Thursday during the CPAC conference that Congress should be ashamed if they reauthorized FISA without significant reform.

Rep. Meadows said Congress is currently reauthorizing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows law enforcement to surveil potential criminal actions with a warrant.

Attorney General William Barr has said he wants a simple reauthorization of FISA; however, Meadows, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), and many other Republicans want “significant reforms” to FISA before it is reauthorized.

Meadows and Jordan noted during the CPAC panel the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials have abused the FISA process to surveil the 2016 Donald Trump campaign.

During the panel, the North Carolina congressman said members of Congress on both sides of the aisle should be ashamed if they support a clean reauthorization of FISA.

“We’re right in the middle of reauthorizing the FISA process,” Meadows said. He added there should be “shame on” Republicans and Democrats that reauthorize FISA without reform.

Meadows tweeted Wednesday that former FBI officials have abused the FISA process to surveil the Trump campaign.

“Former FBI officials in 2016-17 gravely abused the FISA process and lied to the FISA court 17 times. Now, some members of Congress want to do a clean reauthorization of FISA anyway Totally unacceptable. Should NEVER happen,” Meadows wrote.

Former FBI officials in 2016-17 gravely abused the FISA process and lied to the FISA court 17 times

Now, some members of Congress want to do a clean reauthorization of FISA anyway

Totally unacceptable. Should NEVER happen.

— Mark Meadows (@RepMarkMeadows) February 26, 2020

“Comey’s FBI misled the FISA Court 17 times. We can’t simply reauthorize the system that allowed those lies and omissions to happen. Now is our chance to fix it,” Jordan wrote on Wednesday.

Comey’s FBI misled the FISA Court 17 times.

We can’t simply reauthorize the system that allowed those lies and omissions to happen.

Now is our chance to fix it.

— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) February 26, 2020

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), a conservative skeptic of government surveillance, said he had urged his colleagues against “a simple reauthorization of the FISA program. Some are arguing the program needs no reform and that DOJ can put in place internal quality control mechanisms. That’s not good enough.”