#12 The FISA Swamp

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The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) created the FISA Court. The act is designed to catch spies and terrorists without violating the U.S. Constitution. The authority to conduct surveillance is divided into two categories.

1. The FISA law requires the Federal Government to obtain a search warrant showing there is probable cause to believe someone is an "agent of a foreign power." When the FBI and the Justice Department wanted to conduct electronic surveillance on Carter Page, it had to submit a search warrant application showing probable cause. As is now well docunented, the Court was repeatedly lied to by the FBI and the Justice Department in the Carter Page case. 
2. The FISA law also oversees spying programs that don’t require a search warrant. The agencies may conduct specific types of surveillance only if they follow strict, FISA-Court mandated procedures. Unfortunately, that process has failed. Tens of thousands, if not millions of people, have been illegally spied upon by U.S. Intelligence agencies who have repeatedly misled the FISA Court about their activities. Those violations and deceptions are the subject of three different FISA Court reports issued during the past nine years.  

The video report cites three FISA Court opinions dating back to 2011. You'll find links to those opinions below. Be advised. They are not easy reads. They are loaded with jargon and redactions. So, they do not read like a spy novel.