US Government Using Secretive FISA Rules to Spy on Journalists
Documents recently obtained by the Freedom of the Press Foundation reveal troubling facts about how the government is secretly using the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to spy on journalists. The documents were released as part of a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed by the Freedom of the Press Foundation and Columbia University's Knights First Amendment Institute. These newly declassified memos confirm suspicions long held by civil liberties advocates that the government is using and abusing FISA court orders to conduct intrusive surveillance on reporters they deem as "foreign agents" and on those reporters' contacts.
By using FISA, the Department of Justice circumvents traditional court systems that have long protected journalists from invasive and illegal spying practices. [...] Memos made public through the FOIA request reveal that it is highly likely that both the Trump and Obama administrations have spied on journalists they considered "foreign agents" and anyone with whom they may have been in contact.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 05 2019, @08:46PM
I suspect at least half the US gov budget is spent on fixing problems they create for themselves. ~$2 trillion literally down a black hole and they always need more taxes rather than become more efficient or stop fucking up. War on terror -> more terrorists, war on drugs -> more drugs, etc