FISA Should Be Eliminated Due to Its Failures and Unchecked Power
Source: https://www.facebook.com/americanspectator/. "Trump’s Memory Loss | The American Spectator | USA News and Politics." April 21, 2026. spectator.org
The Gist
The author argues that FISA, America's secret surveillance court, should be scrapped because it has failed to stop major terrorist attacks while creating a dangerous system where judges operate in secret with unchecked power. The recent Carter Page scandal shows how this system can be abused for political purposes.
Conclusion
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) should be eliminated rather than extended
Premises
- FISA has consistently failed to prevent major terrorist attacks including the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, 9/11, Fort Hood, Boston Marathon, San Bernardino, and Orlando attacks
- FISA operates as a secret court with only government representation and no public oversight, which is unprecedented in American judicial history
- FISA judges wield more power than Supreme Court justices while operating behind a wall of secrecy that enables partisan abuse
- The Carter Page case demonstrates FISA's susceptibility to abuse, where falsified evidence was used to obtain surveillance warrants
- Judge James Boasberg's lenient sentencing of FBI attorney Kevin Clinesmith (probation for felony falsification) shows the system protects its own rather than ensuring accountability
- FISA judges can move between secret FISA proceedings and public district court cases, creating conflicts of interest
Assumptions
- A surveillance system should be judged primarily by its success in preventing the attacks it was designed to stop
- Secret judicial proceedings without adversarial representation are inherently problematic in a democratic system
- The potential for abuse in secret systems outweighs any security benefits FISA might provide
- Trump's support for FISA extension represents a failure of memory rather than a reasoned policy decision