(The Federalist) We lost the battle on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which federal agencies have used to surveil Americans without warrants, in the House of Representatives last week — barely.
A group of liberty-minded Republicans were fighting to add two major things to FISA: a requirement for a warrant and a ban on federal intelligence agencies from buying American information from online data brokers. In close votes, those attempts failed, which means federal agencies can continue their (illegal) practice of snooping on fellow Americans.
Obtaining a warrant is a vital part of the rule of law and a requirement by the Fourth Amendment of our Constitution to boot. (Read More)