US Senate blocks renewal of law allowing espionage abroad

Announcement in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington, DC
AFP
The United States Senate blocked, this Friday (5), legislation that would renew the powers of intelligence services to spy on citizens abroad.
The Democratic opposition managed to gather some Republican votes, which hold the majority in the Chamber, to hinder the approval of this law, which expires on June 12.
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Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) allows American intelligence agencies to collect communications from foreign targets outside the country, even when they communicate with people in the United States.
Officials describe it as a vital tool against terrorism and espionage, but civil liberties groups and privacy-conscious lawmakers say it allows warrantless access to the communications of American citizens.
Although If Section 702 expires on June 12, some of its operations considered vital to national security can remain in force with court authorization.
Democrats are unhappy with the nomination this week of Bill Pulte, a senior official in Donald Trump's administration, as the new acting director of National Intelligence.
The Senate Intelligence Committee was close to reaching a bipartisan agreement, after months of negotiations, to extend Section 702 for three years, but those negotiations are now back to square one. zero.
Until last Tuesday, Pulte was the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, with no prior experience in national security or intelligence issues, and considered very close to President Trump.
"Giving him the keys to the 18 intelligence agencies (...) would be a disaster," declared Democrat Mark Warner, opposition leader on the Senate committee.
Democrats accuse Pulte of having aligned himself with Trump's retaliation campaign against his opponents politicians.
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Jornal Nacional/ Reproduction
The powers of spy agencies to monitor American citizens outside the country have been the target of criticism from both the left and the right.
These powers were used by the FBI to spy on members of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, and the president himself has shown hostility towards the program in the past, although he now says it is necessary in conflicts such as the war in Iran.
In turn, civil rights groups denounce the rampant increase in wiretapping and spying on citizens in recent years.
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Source: G1