In the News

The House Judiciary Committee on Thursday will investigate how Section 702, a law that was designed to help combat terrorism, has been “weaponized against” Americans.

Breitbart News first reported that the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing next week on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) ahead of Section 702’s December reauthorization deadline... 

Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA) and other lawmakers have pressed Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz over the FBI’s purchase of Americans’ geolocation data.

Cline asked Horowitz during a hearing in March if other parts of the Department of Justice (DOJ) are buying Americans’ private data, describing these reports as “disturbing.” ... 

Reports have found that the FBI and other law enforcement agencies have purchased Americans’ private data, in what could be considered a run around constitutional protections against warrantless searches.

Cline then pressed Attorney General Merrick Garland about this controversy. ... 

Cline asked Garland if he agreed with Horowitz that purchasing Americans’ private data should not have happened post-Carpenter v. United States, a landmark 2018 Supreme Court ruling that held that the United States government needed a search warrant to track suspects for an extended period via cellphone carriers.

The attorney general said, “The Department [DOJ] has an internal investigation going on internally to find out which parts,” of the agency might still be engaging in this practice.