A senior official in the FBI reportedly advised agents to use its warrantless surveillance authorities against targets on U.S. soil, according to an internal email obtained by WIRED.
In April, FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate urged subordinates to find ways to use the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act’s (FISA) Section 702 authority, which allows for warrantless surveillance under certain conditions, against “U.S. persons,” according to WIRED, which obtained the internal email. While the FBI and otherproponents of Section 702 have described the law as an essential tool for national security, the bureau controversially used the espionage tool to target former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, a sitting member of Congress and thousands of Americans.
