Repealing vital national-security powers is not the right way to hold government officials responsible for abuse of power.
The public vests national-security officials with highly intrusive intelligence-gathering powers, but it is with the proviso that these powers will be used only for the purpose of safeguarding the United States - not for lesser purposes, and most certainly not for political purposes.
These powers are entrusted in government because we understand them to be essential for our security, not because we want to empower government officials.
If there is no prosecution the implicit bargain - power conferred by the public in exchange for accountability if power is abused - is broken.
If the government says its officials cannot be held accountable, the public is apt to reply, "In that case, no government official should be trusted to wield national-security powers." Demands are made that these powers be pared back or repealed entirely.
To renew these powers, rather than using them as leverage for a more wholesale revision of FISA law, would be "One of the dumbest things we could do" - an act of "Policy and political malpractice." With due respect, physician, heal thyself.
With apparently little appetite to examine the FISA court's own performance, they propose to give the judges even more oversight power.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/03/fisa-reform-and-national-security/
The public vests national-security officials with highly intrusive intelligence-gathering powers, but it is with the proviso that these powers will be used only for the purpose of safeguarding the United States - not for lesser purposes, and most certainly not for political purposes.
These powers are entrusted in government because we understand them to be essential for our security, not because we want to empower government officials.
If there is no prosecution the implicit bargain - power conferred by the public in exchange for accountability if power is abused - is broken.
If the government says its officials cannot be held accountable, the public is apt to reply, "In that case, no government official should be trusted to wield national-security powers." Demands are made that these powers be pared back or repealed entirely.
To renew these powers, rather than using them as leverage for a more wholesale revision of FISA law, would be "One of the dumbest things we could do" - an act of "Policy and political malpractice." With due respect, physician, heal thyself.
With apparently little appetite to examine the FISA court's own performance, they propose to give the judges even more oversight power.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/03/fisa-reform-and-national-security/
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