Under the purview of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the Section 702 database grants FBI and NSA access, limited to cases where potential information from foreign intelligence agencies can be obtained.
As per the court opinion, yet another FBI agent inappropriately accessed information on a U.S. Senator and a State Senator in the contentious 702 database. The analyst possessed knowledge that a specific foreign intelligence service had targeted both lawmakers. However, the search was reviewed by the Justice Department’s National Security Division, which concluded that it did not meet the required standards.
The court’s opinion further revealed that an FBI agent conducted a separate search of a state-level judge’s social security number in October of the previous year. This judge had previously reported alleged civil rights violations committed by a municipal chief of police. Nevertheless, the results of this search were insufficient to warrant querying the database.
Notably, FBI Director Christopher Wray presented the latest FBI misconduct as a decrease in previous wrongdoing. In response to the FISC opinion, Wray emphasized the “2023 FISC Opinion” as evidence of significant improvements in the FBI’s compliance with Section 702 querying since implementing substantial reforms. We are committed to prioritizing national security while responsibly exercising our Section 702 authorities.
An extensive review by the FISA court revealed approximately 300,000 instances of abuse between early 2020 and the start of 2021. Disturbingly, the report highlights that despite lacking any grounds to suspect ties to foreign governments, one FBI agent conducted 23,132 inquiries on American citizens following the January 6 Capitol protests.