Intelligence Court Rebukes FBI

December 19, 2019

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court this week criticized the FBI for misleading judges, following a scathing report from the Inspector General. In a rare public order, the Court explained that the Bureau's representations were "antithetical to the heightened duty of candor" that the government must satisfy in surveillance applications. Presiding Judge Collyer wrote, "The frequency with which representations made by F.B.I. personnel turned out to be unsupported or contradicted by information in their possession, and with which they withheld information detrimental to their case, calls into question whether information contained in other F.B.I. applications is reliable." The Court ordered the FBI to propose new procedures by January 10, 2020. EPIC has advocated for significant FISA reforms for almost 20 years, and recently advised Congress to limit Section 702 of FISA and to sunset Section 215 of the Patriot Act.

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