Senate Backs Revival of Lapsed Surveillance Authorities

(Bloomberg) -- The Senate voted to revive a trio of surveillance authorities in national security investigations, but the Justice Department blasted the measure over an amendment bolstering the use of independent advisers by the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court.

The legislation, passed 80-16 Thursday, would restore authorization for provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that allow the collection of business and other records of individuals through the FISA court.

It also would permit the government to get so-called roving wiretaps targeting suspects who frequently change phone lines or use so-called burner devices. The provisions expired March 15.

In a victory for privacy advocates, the Senate on Wednesday added an amendment to bolster legal protections for targets of government surveillance and require federal authorities to provide exculpatory evidence to the special FISA court when seeking a warrant.

But Justice Department national security spokesman Marc Raimondi said in a statement: “We appreciate the Senate’s reauthorization of three expired national security authorities. As amended, however, H.R. 6172 would unacceptably degrade our ability to conduct surveillance of terrorists, spies and other national security threats.”

Adoption of the amendment means the measure would have to be returned for another vote in the House, which passed the original bill in March.

Warrant Requirement Fails

Another amendment that would have required warrants before federal authorities can get an individual’s internet search and web-browsing history failed by a single vote on Wednesday.

Before the final vote Thursday, the Senate rejected 85-11 an amendment from Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky to prohibit the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act from being used against a U.S. citizen.

The underlying bill was the product of bipartisan House negotiations with Attorney General William Barr, but President Donald Trump has not yet said whether he would sign it. Paul has said he would urge Trump to veto the legislation.

The debate over the FISA authority took place amid anger among Republicans over an inspector general’s Senate testimony that the Federal Bureau of Investigation misled a secret court to get warrants for continued surveillance of Carter Page for its investigation of possible collusion between Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign.

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