“Get a warrant” has become a battle cry for many conservative and liberal critics of federal government surveillance programs — but President Donald Trump’s pick for FBI director said Thursday he opposes such a requirement.
“Having a warrant requirement to go through that information in real time is just not comported with the requirement to protect American citizens,” Kash Patel said during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. “It’s almost impossible to make that function and serve the national, no-fail mission.”
The U.S. government uses a provision called Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to collect a vast amount data from social media sites, email platforms and other companies. The collection, which doesn’t require a case-by-case warrant, is supposed to be aimed at foreigners, but the FBI has also searched that pool of data for information about Americans without seeking a warrant.
Under questioning by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Patel said that ability has been misused, but he opposes making investigators go to a court before doing such searches, as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have proposed. Patel said he had experience using that sort of data to save Americans being held hostage abroad.
“The issue has been those that have been in government service and abused it in the past. And so we must work with Congress to provide the protections necessary for American citizens,” Patel said.
In a ruling unsealed earlier this month, a federal judge said the use of 702 data in a criminal case is unconstitutional. The 702 provision is set to expire next year, with a major battle expected in Congress over renewing it.
