Exclusive: House Judiciary Committee to Hold Deep State Spy Powers Hearing Next Week

The House Judiciary Committee is expected to hold a hearing next week on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) ahead of Section 702’s reauthorization this December, Breitbart News has learned exclusively.

According to a source familiar with the proceedings, the Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance will likely hold a hearing next week on FISA.

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), the chair of the subcommittee, will lead the hearing alongside House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) to investigate how the intelligence community has abused its FISA authorities and how it might have failed to implement reforms.

Section 702 is a law that allows intelligence agencies to collect communications of targeted foreigners. Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL) made the startling revelation that he believed the FBI surveilled him through Section 702 without “limiters,” as revealed by a Justice Department (DOJ) and Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) routine audit. Section 702 may also lead to incidental or even targeted collection of Americans’ communications.

This is the first congressional hearing on FISA this term as lawmakers seek to reform Section 702 of FISA ahead of the law’s December deadline, setting up a clash between privacy advocates and lawmakers who believe that the intelligence agencies need this law to combat terrorism and other crimes.

This is especially significant as Judiciary Committee lawmakers, such as Biggs and Jordan, typically favor surveillance reforms.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) said the committee has selected the Republicans and Democrats who will be tasked with reforming Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which will expire at the end of December.

LaHood (R-IL) will be one of the six members of the House Intelligence Committee working group.

Lahood dramatically revealed during a March hearing that he believes he was surveilled by the FBI; a government audit found that the FBI surveilled an unnamed congressman without “limiters.”

“I have had the opportunity to review the classified summary of this violation and it is my opinion that the member of Congress that was wrongfully queried multiple times solely by his name was, in fact, me. Now this careless abuse of this critical tool by the FBI is unfortunate,” he said during the hearing.

WATCH: Rep. Darin LaHood: “My Opinion” that FBI Surveilled Me Through FISA Spy Authority

C-SPAN

The New York Times claimed that this surveillance was a defensive search of his communications to ensure that he was not the subject of foreign espionage or a covert influence campaign.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) told Fox News last fall, “I think we should not even reauthorize FISA, which is going to come in the next Congress.”