Director Christopher Wray of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) pleaded with Congress to renew a surveillance statute on December 5, highlighting the act’s crucial role in providing the president with the vast bulk of intelligence that he receives on a daily basis. As part of his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, he extended this invitation.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act’s Section 702, which is due to expire on December 31, is opposed to renewal by many Republicans. The group claims this is an example of their ongoing attacks on the Justice Department and the FBI, which they claim are out to target conservatives.
Wray highlighted the importance of the law’s monitoring powers in safeguarding American national security interests, referencing potential dangers posed by Iran and China.
The director, Christopher Wray, stressed the need to keep the power to monitor foreign threats. He elaborated by saying that disarming on one’s own would be the same as stripping the FBI of its 702 powers, which pertain primarily to hostile regimes like Iran and China. Wray stressed the importance of the monitoring statute in identifying foreign terrorist groups planning strikes in the US. In order to resolve compliance concerns, he proposed new policies and promised to be a good steward of these powers.
Wray expressed optimism about recent data from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, stating, ‘There is a 98% compliance rate, and the reforms are having the desired effect.’ He also pointed to two recent Justice Department reports that similarly indicate ‘greater than 98% compliance.’
Although “well-intentioned lawmakers had chosen to build a wall preventing access to national security information” prior to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, Wray emphasized this point in his opening remarks.
He emphasized that letting 702 expire or making changes to it that reduce its effectiveness is like constructing a new wall identical to the one before 9/11.
He said, “As threats from foreign adversaries to our homeland keep changing, the agility and effectiveness of 702 are crucial for the FBI to fulfill its mandate from the American people: keeping them safe in the years ahead. It’s our responsibility to ensure we have the necessary tools for that.”
