In a dramatic scene that unfolded in the wee hours this morning, members of the House defeated a ploy by the administration and Speaker Johnson to ram through a 5-year reauthorization of FISA Section 702. Here’s what happened, and what will/should happen next. 1/20
![Congressional report text:
This goes further than the President's plan in that it
prohibits the bulk collection of all tangible things and not
just telephone records. Section 501(b)(2)(A) of FISA will
continue to require the government to make ``a statement of
facts showing that there are reasonable grounds to believe that
the tangible things sought are relevant to an authorized
investigation. . . .''\30\ The USA Freedom Act requires the
government to provide a specific selection term as the basis
for the production of the tangible things sought, thus ensuring
that the government cannot collect tangible things based on the
assertion that the requested collection ``is thus relevant,
because the success of [an] investigative tool depends on bulk
collection.''\31\ These changes restore meaningful limits to
the ``relevance'' requirement of Section 501.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:l5sbumoynt7yzpjipsfsgczg/bafkreib2bzrqvjfgeow5w734azwgkfa52emgoujrycnvhb5h22u5ab4rq4)
Congressional report text: This goes further than the President's plan in that it prohibits the bulk collection of all tangible things and not just telephone records. Section 501(b)(2)(A) of FISA will continue to require the government to make ``a statement of facts showing that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the tangible things sought are relevant to an authorized investigation. . . .''\30\ The USA Freedom Act requires the government to provide a specific selection term as the basis for the production of the tangible things sought, thus ensuring that the government cannot collect tangible things based on the assertion that the requested collection ``is thus relevant, because the success of [an] investigative tool depends on bulk collection.''\31\ These changes restore meaningful limits to the ``relevance'' requirement of Section 501.
The USA FREEDOM debate was about banning bulk collection, & was strongly focused on doing so for all types of data. Congress said this clearly and repeatedly, including in the very report that Gerstall cites to falsely claim the issue was exclusively about call records not bulk collection at large!
Conservative Ohio congressman Warren Davidson with an important op-ed in @thehill.com about the need to reform Section 702 if Congress reauthorizes it, and to close the loophole that lets law enforcement skirt your Fourth Amendment rights with cash.
thehill.com/opinion/cong...
BREAKING: Hundreds of sensitive U.S. records obtained by WIRED undercut the Trump administration’s claims portraying Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua as a unified terrorist force invading the country. Intelligence agencies spent much of 2025 unsure TdA even functioned as an organization on U.S. soil.
JUST IN: Fed judge in Seattle strikes down several provisions in Trump executive order on election integrity. Judge John Chun (Biden) says the Constitution assigns the president no role in election administration. Doc: www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
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We're three former newspaper people who couldn't sit by and watch Trump destroy this country. So we're helping to call attention to what he's doing and, we hope, rally support to stop him.
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And the world moves forward to greater peace & prosperity, without 🇺🇸. Thank you, Donald Trump, for this Golden Age… 🫠 cc @dpounder.bsky.social @fergdawg.bsky.social @frashure.org @tylerharris.bsky.social @jasonpye.bsky.social @aaronrosspowell.com www.nytimes.com/2026/01/09/b...
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Press release: www.lee.senate.gov/2025/11/lee-...
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Despite the political rhetoric surrounding crime, the violent crime rate in the United States dropped to its lowest level since 1969.
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I don’t know exactly what happened. I’ve inferred things. Doug was a good and smart guy. Some people just have demons they can’t shake.
NEW! @biodoss.bsky.social @frashure.bsky.social & I spoke w @jasonpye.bsky.social w. @dueprocess.bsky.social & discussed the erosion of due process rights & Constitutional protections under the Trump admin.➕hyper-partisanship, the budget bill, authoritarianism & more open.spotify.com/episode/4NTP...
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🤩 Huge news as Vice President Jason Pye (@jasonpye.bsky.social) is now a member of the Council on Criminal Justice!
👏 Join us in congratulating Jason as he continues to be an outstanding advocate and voice for criminal legal reform!
