The World Is Changing. House Votes Against Intelligence Community
As the Post has detailed, federal law enforcement searches targeted Jan. 6 suspects, activists arrested after the killing of George Floyd and 19,000 donors to a congressional candidate who was challenging an incumbent.
Even Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill., learned that he was a target.
(Some of these revelations make you wonder how much free time agents have on their hands. Don't they have something better to do?)
My instincts lean toward renewing the authority. The White House has warned that requiring a warrant for these data searches can take weeks. That would put me in the same neighborhood as President Joe Biden, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and House Speaker Mike Johnson.
But once Trump chimed in against the 702 extension, the partial GOP cave-in was sealed.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., was one of the 19 Republicans who took the opposite stance. "Speaker Mike Johnson is urging members to reauthorize FISA after President Trump said: KILL FISA. It's like asking the Deep State to hold itself accountable after it has abused the American people's trust," she posted on social media.
Actually, Johnson was standing up for what he thought was right.
I don't trust MTG, but I do understand conservatives' distrust of what Trump calls the "deep state." Too many times those who are supposed to serve the public act as if they own the government. In this case, the FBI was caught red-handed but did not reform.
That's the kind of arrogance that leads voters to lean toward politicians who don't want to govern, but just want to get on cable news.
There is no one left to trust. So China, Russia and Iran can take a victory lap.
Contact Review-Journal Washington columnist Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com. Follow @debrajsaunders on X.
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