Highlight any text to annotate

This bill would create a new FISA Oversight Office within the Department of Justice to review surveillance applications before they go to the secret court that handles foreign intelligence cases. The office would evaluate whether applications meet the legal "probable cause" standard required by law, and it would have the authority to challenge applications in court if it believes the standard has not been met. For surveillance targeting American citizens, the office would be required to challenge any application where probable cause has not been "clearly met." Additionally, the bill would mandate that the FISA court appoint an independent advocate, known as an amicus curiae, to assist in reviewing every surveillance application. Within one year of the law taking effect, the Attorney General and Director of National Intelligence would have to report to Congress on how many applications the oversight office challenged and why, providing details about the subjects and information involved.

Add a comment

Sign in to comment on this bill.

Annotate the text

Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.