GOP Rep. Gaetz introduces resolution urging Congress to not renew surveillance tools

Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz on Tuesday introduced a resolution in support of allowing the surveillance authorities granted under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to expire at the end of the year.

Gaetz asserted that the intelligence community had repeatedly abused the authorities granted to it, citing a FISA Court decision which determined that the FBI had wrongly used its authority at least 278,000 times to surveil Americans.

His remark appears to reference a filing from May showing that the bureau improperly accessed the Section 702 intelligence database to surveil Americans, included George Floyd protesters and Jan. 6 participants.

"The persistent abuse of Section 702 of FISA underscores the disturbing trend of our federal government being weaponized against its people. The blatant misuse of warrantless surveillance powers targeting Americans’ communications should not be accepted or reauthorized. We must uphold national security without sacrificing the constitutional rights of our fellow Americans," he said in a statement.

The Section 702 surveillance authorities are slated to expire at the end of the year, absent congressional intervention. Gaetz's resolution does not terminate them outright but merely declares the position of Congress that they ought not be renewed.

Republican Reps. Eli Crane, Ariz., Paul Gosar, Ariz., Marjorie Taylor Greene, Ga., Thomas Massie, Ky., and Matt Rosendale, Mont., have co-sponsored the resolution.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.