"A senior Democratic aide referred to the section as a 'legislative scam,' stating that many members do not understand the law's intricacies and are being misled by the intelligence community."
"Section 5 directs the US attorney general to revoke existing rules on congressional access to the secret court overseeing the 702 program, with access determined by the attorney general's discretion."
"Section 6 removes the ability for an FBI supervisor to approve queries using an American's identifier, transferring that authority to attorneys who are now classified as at-will employees."
"Section 7 orders the Government Accountability Office to audit the program's targeting procedures, but the audit is nonbinding and its effectiveness depends on the intelligence community's cooperation."
The bill includes provisions that raise concerns about constitutional safeguards and oversight. Section 5 allows the attorney general to revoke rules on congressional access to the secret court overseeing the 702 program. Section 6 limits query approvals to attorneys, but these attorneys are now classified as at-will employees. Section 7 mandates a nonbinding audit by the Government Accountability Office, which may not yield valuable insights without real access to the intelligence community's mechanisms. Democratic support is led by Representative Jim Himes, who cites a lack of known abuses under the current administration.
Read at WIRED
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