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where I'll take you behind

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relationship. Find Face Off

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wherever you get your podcasts. Trump

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loyalists kill vote on U.S. wiretap

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program. An attempt to

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reauthorize Section 702, the so-called crown jewel

1:13

of U.S. spy powers, failed

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for a third time in the House of Representatives

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after former President Donald Trump scrutinized the law,

1:20

by Del Cameron. For

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the third time since December, House

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Speaker Mike Johnson has failed to

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wrangle support for reauthorizing a critical

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U.S. surveillance program, raising questions

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about the future of a law that compels certain

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businesses to wiretap foreigners

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on the government's behalf. Johnson

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lost 19 Republicans on Tuesday

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in a procedural vote that traditionally

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falls along party lines. Republicans control

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the House, but only by a

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razor-thin margin. The failed vote

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comes just hours after former U.S. President Donald

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Trump ordered Republicans to kill

1:53

FISA in a 2 a.m. post

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on Truth Social, referring to the

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Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the

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program is authorized. The

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Section 702 Surveillance Program, which targets

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foreigners overseas while sweeping up a

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large amount of U.S. communications as

2:08

well, is set to sunset next

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week, on April The

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program was extended by four months in

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late December following Johnson's first failed attempt

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to hold a vote. Congressional

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sources tell Wired they have no idea what the

2:22

next steps will be. The

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program itself will carry on into the next

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year regardless of whether Johnson manages to muster

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up another vote in the next week. Congress

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does not directly authorize this surveillance.

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Instead, it allows the U.S. intelligence

2:36

services to seek certifications from a

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secret surveillance court on a yearly

2:40

basis. The Justice

2:42

Department applied for new certifications in

2:45

February. Last week, it announced

2:47

they'd been approved by the court. The

2:49

government's power to issue new directives

2:51

under the program, without Congress's approval,

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however, remains in question. The

2:56

certifications, which are only required due

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to the incidental collection of U.S.

3:00

calls, generally permit

3:02

the program's use in cases

3:04

involving terrorism, cybercrime, and weapons

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proliferation. U.S. intelligence officials

3:09

have also touted the program as

3:11

crucial for combating the flood of

3:13

fentanyl-related substances entering the U.S. from

3:15

overseas. The program

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remains controversial due to a laundry list

3:20

of abuses committed primarily by the Federal

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Bureau of Investigation, which maintains a

3:24

database that holds a portion of the raw data

3:26

collected under 702. Although

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the government says it only targets foreigners,

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it has acknowledged collecting a large amount

3:33

of U.S. communications in the process. The

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actual amount, it says, is impossible to calculate.

3:39

Nevertheless, it claims that once those

3:41

communications are in the government's possession,

3:43

it is constitutional for federal agents

3:45

to review those wiretaps without a

3:47

warrant. An unlikely

3:50

coalition of progressives and conservative lawmakers formed

3:52

last year in a push to end

3:54

these warrantless searches. Many of

3:56

the Republicans involved vocal critics of the FBI

3:59

following its municipal. The use of it

4:01

to target a Trump campaign staffer and

4:03

twenty sixteen. The Seven

4:05

Oh Two program which is only one part

4:07

of Fi, so it was not implicated in

4:09

that particular controversy. Privacy.

4:11

Experts have criticized proposed changes to the

4:13

Section Seven Oh Two programs championed by

4:16

members of the House Intelligence Committee, as

4:18

well as Johnson, who had previously voted

4:20

in favor of a warrant requirement despite

4:22

now opposing it. It. Seems

4:25

congressional leadership needs to be reminded

4:27

that these privacy protections are overwhelmingly

4:29

popular, says Sean Vid Car. Policy.

4:31

Director at Demand Progress, a

4:33

Civil Liberties focus nonprofit. Surveillance.

4:36

Reformers remain willing and able to do

4:38

that. A group of

4:40

attorneys on Tuesday among the fuse that

4:42

ever present arguments before the Foreign Intelligence

4:44

Surveillance Court said in a statement that

4:47

and amendment offered up by the Intel

4:49

committee risk to dramatically increasing the number

4:51

of Us businesses forced to cooperate with

4:53

the program. Declassified.

4:56

Filings released by the Fi support last

4:58

year revealed that the F B I

5:00

had misused the Seven Oh Two program

5:02

more than two hundred seventy eight thousand

5:04

times. including. As reported

5:06

by The Washington Post against Crime

5:09

victims, January Sixth Riot suspects people

5:11

arrested at protests after the policing

5:13

killing of George Floyd in Twenty

5:15

Twenty and in one case nineteen

5:18

thousand donors to a congressional candidate.

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James. Tyranny of Ascii, A senior

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policy analyst at Americans for Prosperity, a

5:25

Washington Dc think tank pushing for change

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to Section Seven. Oh two. says.

5:30

That, despite recognizing it's value, he

5:32

remained a troubled program in need

5:35

of significant and meaningful reforms. The.

5:38

Outcome of today was completely avoidable,

5:40

he says. But it requires the

5:42

intelligence community and it's allies to

5:44

recognize that it's days of unaccountable

5:46

and unconditional spying on Americans is

5:48

over. Thanks. For

5:51

listening to Wired my name is he grabs

5:53

soon And for more stories like this one

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visit usatwire.com. like

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what you learned subscribe everywhere listen

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science news at wired.com/ Science.

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