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Right and Left React to the Extension of Warrantless Surveillance Right and Left React to the Extension of Warrantless Surveillance
(7 months later)
The political news cycle is fast, and keeping up can be overwhelming. Trying to find differing perspectives worth your time is even harder. That’s why we have scoured the internet for political writing from the right and left that you might not have seen.The political news cycle is fast, and keeping up can be overwhelming. Trying to find differing perspectives worth your time is even harder. That’s why we have scoured the internet for political writing from the right and left that you might not have seen.
Has this series exposed you to new ideas? Tell us how. Email us at ourpicks@nytimes.com.Has this series exposed you to new ideas? Tell us how. Email us at ourpicks@nytimes.com.
For an archive of all the Partisan Writing Roundups, check out Our Picks.For an archive of all the Partisan Writing Roundups, check out Our Picks.
Jim Banks in The Washington Examiner:Jim Banks in The Washington Examiner:
“As a conservative, I am committed to both protecting our national security and our civil liberties. As a matter of national security, we cannot return to a pre-9/11 footing by reinstituting barriers between national security and law enforcement.”
Mr. Banks, a Republican congressman from Indiana, explains why he supports the decision by Congress to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The statute allows the government to continue conducting warrantless searches of communications of foreigners abroad, even when they are talking to American citizens. Mr. Banks argues that the provision is an “irreplaceable tool” crucial for the intelligence community to protect the nation. Moreover, he counters arguments that Section 702 compromises the privacy of Americans by explaining that it “is subject to extraordinary checks and balances, including oversight from all three branches of government.” Read more »Mr. Banks, a Republican congressman from Indiana, explains why he supports the decision by Congress to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The statute allows the government to continue conducting warrantless searches of communications of foreigners abroad, even when they are talking to American citizens. Mr. Banks argues that the provision is an “irreplaceable tool” crucial for the intelligence community to protect the nation. Moreover, he counters arguments that Section 702 compromises the privacy of Americans by explaining that it “is subject to extraordinary checks and balances, including oversight from all three branches of government.” Read more »
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Willis L. Krumholz in The Federalist:Willis L. Krumholz in The Federalist:
“The problem, fundamentally, is that Congress has given our intelligence agencies too much power, and refuses to check these agencies even when they flagrantly abuse the vast powers they have been granted.”
Mr. Krumholz cites what he sees as abuses of Section 702 as an argument against reauthorization of the provision. He is particularly concerned with the process known as unmasking, wherein government officials can find out the identities of Americans participating in foreign communications picked up by intelligence agencies. Despite their best intentions to prevent terrorism and crime, he argues, intelligence agencies are not immune from a central tenet of human nature: “Unaccountable power corrupts and would be abused by even the best of us.” Read more »Mr. Krumholz cites what he sees as abuses of Section 702 as an argument against reauthorization of the provision. He is particularly concerned with the process known as unmasking, wherein government officials can find out the identities of Americans participating in foreign communications picked up by intelligence agencies. Despite their best intentions to prevent terrorism and crime, he argues, intelligence agencies are not immune from a central tenet of human nature: “Unaccountable power corrupts and would be abused by even the best of us.” Read more »
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Alex Shephard in New Republic:Alex Shephard in New Republic:
“Trump’s FISA tweets betray a deep ignorance of the program, suggesting that he is getting his policy briefings not from White House staffers, but from television.”
Mr. Shephard takes on a particularly odd moment in the battle over the law’s reauthorization when, on Thursday morning, President Trump posted seemingly contradictory Twitter message on the issue. To Mr. Shephard, having the president walk back his initial message against reauthorization was a sign that he was out of step with his own administration. More important, perhaps, it also proves that Republican legislators have decided that, on policy, they will just ignore what their party’s leader has to say. Read more »Mr. Shephard takes on a particularly odd moment in the battle over the law’s reauthorization when, on Thursday morning, President Trump posted seemingly contradictory Twitter message on the issue. To Mr. Shephard, having the president walk back his initial message against reauthorization was a sign that he was out of step with his own administration. More important, perhaps, it also proves that Republican legislators have decided that, on policy, they will just ignore what their party’s leader has to say. Read more »
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Trevor Timm in NBC News:Trevor Timm in NBC News:
“Democrats should have had the foresight to roll back the Bush-era surveillance laws under President Obama; it’s unconscionable to now hand Trump even more leverage to seek retribution and give him a green light to conduct unconstitutional surveillance on Americans.”
Mr. Timm, the executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, takes aim Democrats who joined with the House speaker, Paul D. Ryan, and other Republicans to extend the N.S.A.’s ability to spy on Americans without a warrant. He singles out the House Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi, and Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, for being staunch critics of the Trump administration while simultaneously granting it more power. Mr. Timm urges Senate Democrats to correct the mistake their colleagues in the House made in Thursday’s vote. Read more »Mr. Timm, the executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, takes aim Democrats who joined with the House speaker, Paul D. Ryan, and other Republicans to extend the N.S.A.’s ability to spy on Americans without a warrant. He singles out the House Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi, and Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, for being staunch critics of the Trump administration while simultaneously granting it more power. Mr. Timm urges Senate Democrats to correct the mistake their colleagues in the House made in Thursday’s vote. Read more »
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Susan Hennessey and Benjamin Wittes in Lawfare:Susan Hennessey and Benjamin Wittes in Lawfare:
“The lapse of Section 702 surveillance capabilities, even for a short time, would constitute a full-fledged national security emergency.”
Ms. Hennessey and Mr. Wittes are both fellows at the Brookings Institution. They are generally sympathetic to legislation that empowers intelligence agencies to collect information and Ms. Hennessey, before joining Brookings, was a lawyer for the National Security Agency. She and Mr. Wittes argue for the vital importance of Section 702, explaining that even critics of the provision cannot deny that the information it delivers is crucial for the president’s daily briefing and helps federal law enforcement detect and deter terrorism on American soil. They concede that there is “genuine and legitimate controversy over whether additional protections should apply” to guard the privacy of Americans in “postcollection queries of the data.” Finally, they chide the president for his Thursday morning tweets, writing that “there is still time for him to do more to ameliorate the mess he has created here.” Read more »Ms. Hennessey and Mr. Wittes are both fellows at the Brookings Institution. They are generally sympathetic to legislation that empowers intelligence agencies to collect information and Ms. Hennessey, before joining Brookings, was a lawyer for the National Security Agency. She and Mr. Wittes argue for the vital importance of Section 702, explaining that even critics of the provision cannot deny that the information it delivers is crucial for the president’s daily briefing and helps federal law enforcement detect and deter terrorism on American soil. They concede that there is “genuine and legitimate controversy over whether additional protections should apply” to guard the privacy of Americans in “postcollection queries of the data.” Finally, they chide the president for his Thursday morning tweets, writing that “there is still time for him to do more to ameliorate the mess he has created here.” Read more »
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Sharon Bradford Franklin in Just Security:Sharon Bradford Franklin in Just Security:
“Members of Congress should recognize that this bill is a wolf in sheep’s clothing: a surveillance expansion bill masquerading as a reform bill.”
Ms. Franklin is a senior fellow at New America’s Open Technology Institute and the former executive director of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. She argues that the bill, rather than serving as the overhaul provision its proponents claim it is, is actually an expansion of the federal government’s surveillance capabilities. Read more »Ms. Franklin is a senior fellow at New America’s Open Technology Institute and the former executive director of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board. She argues that the bill, rather than serving as the overhaul provision its proponents claim it is, is actually an expansion of the federal government’s surveillance capabilities. Read more »
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Have thoughts about this collection? Email feedback to ourpicks@nytimes.com.Have thoughts about this collection? Email feedback to ourpicks@nytimes.com.