Susan Rice spying scandal misses the point

From Campaign For Liberty:

When it comes to the Susan Rice spying scandal and unmasking the names of Trump staffers “incidentally” picked up in foreign surveillance, the pundits are missing the forest for the trees.

The moment Susan Rice chose to unmask the names of Americans, and likely leak the details of their conversation throughout the Obama administration, it’s clear she had sinister intent.

Some argue what she did wasn't illegal under the dramatically expanded powers Congress unconstitutionally handed intelligence agencies in the name of "fighting terrorism."

But that's exactly the problem!

The real point of this whole ordeal is whether or not the government should have the power to get this information at all.

There’s no denying anymore that the Deep State is being politically weaponized.

And it’s only a matter of time until all of us feel the crunch.

For years, Campaign for Liberty has fought back against the surveillance powers being accumulated under the executive branch.

We warned Congress and the American people that left to their own devices, the Deep State and the administration that oversees it would abuse its authority.

Power corrupts. And the tools the Congress has empowered America’s spy agencies with are simply too powerful to be allowed to continue.

Susan Rice spying on the incoming administration to gain valuable political intelligence ought to be a criminal offense.

That it may not be one at the moment should concern every American. . .

You see if the government is allowed to continue “incidentally” collecting conversations between Americans and foreign citizens, eventually it won’t just be political staffers’ conversations they’re monitoring.

It’ll be yours and mine!

While Section 702 explicitly prohibits intentional targeting of American citizens, the Susan Rice spying scandal shows exactly how the program can be used to catch them “incidentally.”

The NSA regularly intercepts information of innocent Americans without any probable cause or warrant.

In fact, several other instances of abuse exist outside of the Susan Rice spying scandal like,

>>> Employees monitoring communications of their ex-boyfriends and girlfriends -- it occurred so often it was assigned the name, “LOVEINT”;

>>> In one instance, a “programming error” confused the US area code 202 (Washington, D.C.) for the Egyptian country code “20” intercepting a “large number” of calls placed from Washington;

>>> In 2011, the FISA Court (intended to “oversee” the surveillance) ruled that NSA collection of Internet communications violated the 4th Amendment because, even with their “minimization procedures,” the agency was still collecting 56,000 American emails a year.

Section 702 is precisely the type of surveillance used against the colonists that led our Founding Fathers to fight a revolution over!

That’s why this summer, when Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act comes up for reauthorization, you and I must be ready to mobilize on this opportunity.

I’m preparing an all-out assault on the surveillance state, but I need to know you’re with me.

That’s why I’ve prepared a brief Statement of Support for you to sign.

It lets Dr. Paul and I know that you’ll stand with Campaign for Liberty and the members of Congress who lead the fight against renewing Section 702 this summer.

Our efforts in 2015 led to a temporary expiration of the controversial Patriot Act provisions, preventing Congress from further watering down the so-called “USA FREEDOM Act.”

Americans must demand that Congress stop the mass surveillance of innocent Americans’ communications and conduct a full Congressional investigation into the Susan Rice spying scandal.

I’ll be sure to follow-up with more information detailing our plans and how you can help to fight back against illegal spying.

But for now, I hope you’ll sign your Statement of Support and chip in $10 or even $20 to let us know you’re ready for a fight!

In Liberty,

Norm Singleton
President

P.S. The warrantless surveillance of Americans like that of the Trump staffers by political cronies like Susan Rice must be stopped!

Please sign your Statement of Support and chip in whatever you can afford today to help Campaign for Liberty prepare our all-out assault on the Deep State this summer.