If This 'Doesn't Give You Chills I Don't Know What Will': McConnell Patriot Act Expansion Would Hand

[Judi Lynn]

Published on
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
by Common Dreams

If This 'Doesn't Give You Chills I Don't Know What Will': McConnell Patriot Act Expansion Would Hand AG Barr Unprecedented Spy Powers

"These amendments would pretty much guarantee the ability of an incumbent administration to spy on its political opponents without consequence."

by Julia Conley, staff writer

Sen. Ron Wyden was joined by privacy advocates Wednesday in forcefully condemning a new proposed amendment to the PATRIOT Act put forward by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that would greatly expand the U.S. attorney general's surveillance powers under FISA.

McConnell's amendment, which the Senate began debating Wednesday as lawmakers took up the reauthorization of the 2001 PATRIOT Act, would explicitly permit the FBI to collect records of Americans' internet search and browsing histories without a warrant. It would also mandate that Attorney General William Barr, and his successors, conduct an annual review of the FBI's submissions into the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Court.

Barr would be permitted to review for "accuracy and completeness" evidence presented to the FISA Court by the FBI regarding potential surveillance targets.

"Under the McConnell amendment, Barr gets to look through the web browsing history of any American—including journalists, politicians, and political rivals—without a warrant, just by saying it is relevant to an investigation," Wyden told the Daily Beast this week, before speaking out against the amendment on the Senate floor.

More:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/13/if-doesnt-give-you-chills-i-dont-know-what-will-mcconnell-patriot-act-expansion