Bill Barr Slams Trump’s Opposition to FISA’s Domestic Spying

Former Attorney General Bill Barr exploded in fury Wednesday over former President Donald Trump’s successful opposition to domestic spying. The 45th president stood firmly against reauthorizing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), and it was shot down by the House.

Trump called on lawmakers to “Kill FISA,” and they did. Section 702 of the Act, which authorizes domestic surveillance, is set to expire on April 19.

Barr told The Hill that it is “crazy and reckless” not to reauthorize FISA. “It is our principal tool protecting us from terrorist attacks. We’re living through a time where these threats have never been higher, so it’s blinding us, it’s blinding our allies.”

Barr served as AG in the Trump administration from 2019 to 2020 and previously in the same capacity under former President George H.W. Bush from 1991 to 1993.

Trump was notably victimized by FISA when one of his campaign staffers was spied upon. Barr used this controversial incident to blame the former president’s opposition on “personal pique rather than any logic or reason.”

The 45th president wrote on his Truth Social platform that FISA was utilized to illegally spy on his presidential campaign. His admonishment to “Kill FISA” was apparently taken to heart by House conservatives who did exactly that.

That turned into a resounding defeat for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who backed the measure to renew authorization for the surveillance tool.

The bill was shelved after 19 Republicans bucked the party leadership and voted against a procedural move to permit House debate and a vote. The final tally was 228-193 against renewal.

The measure voted down was the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act. This bill was worked out by the House Judiciary Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and was touted as a way to end suspect intelligence practices.

Practices such as spying on the Trump campaign for president.

But conservatives balked, saying that the bill did not do enough to safeguard U.S. citizens from domestic spying.

It is unlikely that the argument over Section 702 is over. Security hawks maintain that it is critical for national defense against terror threats while civil libertarians argue that it is too often misused against the privacy rights of Americans.