Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that the gentleman talked about a response. I haven't seen that response yet, but I look forward to working with our folks who are heavily involved in these negotiations to see if we can reach agreement because, in the past, the program has had many supporters, Republican and Democrat, but clearly some detractors on both sides as well. It is a very critical tool in our national security. The FISA courts have been used to stop terrorist activity, to prevent other terrorist attacks, but there is clearly other weighing that goes back and forth on civil liberties and ensuring that the rights of Americans are protected. It is a balance that was tested, frankly, in 2016, when we saw clear abuses of the FISA court. The first time we had seen those kinds of identified abuses, they were limited, but they were blatant. It is a dangerous affront to our Nation's national security if you have people at intelligence agencies who abuse their power. In fact, the Horowitz report was very specific in outlining 17 different exact abuses of the FISA court. Some of this is still being investigated through the Durham investigation, which will, hopefully, yield a list of specific people. I will just read from parts of the Horowitz report.…”