Tulsi Gabbard flip-flops on Section 702 — Trump's DNI pick now supports much-abused surveillance authority

Lt. Col. Tulsi Gabbard has changed her position on Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the warrantless surveillance authority that was used to spy on the 2016 Trump campaign and was exploited by the FBI hundreds of thousands of times to spy on American citizens.

Gabbard told Punchbowl News last week that she will support the controversial act if confirmed as President-elect Donald Trump's director of national intelligence.

Section 702 allows the government to spy on foreign nationals outside the U.S. with the compelled aid of electronic communication service providers. While supposedly outward-facing, if an American contacts or is contacted by a foreign national over email, social media, or the phone, the American's communications could potentially be tapped, searched, and stored without a warrant.

Blaze News previously reported that the FBI has admitted that there were at least 278,000 "unintentional" backdoor search queries of the 702 database for the private communications of Americans between 2020 and 2021 alone. Among those citizens swept up into the warrantless 702 searches were Jan. 6 protesters, congressional campaign donors, and BLM protesters.

'Politicians talk a good game about civil liberties.'

In her final days as congresswoman for Hawaii, Gabbard joined Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) in advancing a bill that would have repealed the Patriot Act and killed nearly all provisions of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008.

Gabbard said in a video at the time:

The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution very specifically prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures without a warrant based on probable cause. But over the last two decades, in part because of information revealed by Edward Snowden, we now know that there have been ongoing breaches of our civil liberties through programs that were instituted through the Patriot Act and the FISA Amendments Act, which basically allowed agencies within our government to conduct mass illegal surveillance on Americans without a warrant or probable cause.

Years later, Gabbard, still apparently a critic of Section 702, noted in a speech at CPAC, "Too many politicians talk a good game about civil liberties, but when it comes time to cast that vote on things like getting rid of secret FISA courts and protecting our Fourth Amendment rights to privacy, they vote on the side of the power elite and against liberty."

In an apparent effort to win over elements of the power elite in the U.S. Senate, Gabbard has adopted a new view on the spying authority.

Gabbard confirmed her flip-flop in a statement to CNN on Friday, noting, "Section 702, unlike other FISA authorities, is crucial for gathering foreign intelligence on non-U.S. persons abroad. This unique capability cannot be replicated and must be safeguarded to protect our nation while ensuring the civil liberties of Americans."

"My prior concerns about FISA were based on insufficient protections for civil liberties, particularly regarding the FBI's misuse of warrantless search powers on American citizens," continued Gabbard, who Trump previously indicated would champion Americans' constitutional rights in the role. "Significant FISA reforms have been enacted since my time in Congress to address these issues. If confirmed as DNI, I will uphold Americans' Fourth Amendment rights while maintaining vital national security tools like Section 702 to ensure the safety and freedom of the American people."

'IT WAS ILLEGALLY USED AGAINST ME, AND MANY OTHERS.'

This consequential about-face may improve Gabbard's chances of confirmation in the U.S. Senate. Her embrace of Section 702 has already won over Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford (R), a longtime supporter of the controversial spying power, who told NBC News' "Meet the Press" Sunday that Gabbard's flip-flop "was a very important piece."

"She voted against that in the House when she was a member of the House of Representatives and had said she wanted changes," said Lankford. "She's now coming and saying, 'Those changes have been done,' because even since she was in Congress, there have been quite a few changes that we've made in Congress to make sure we're protecting the civil rights of Americans."

Lankford previously suggested in a Wall Street Journal podcast on Wednesday that Gabbard should abandon her opposition to the 702 program.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, similarly appears pleased by Gabbard's change of heart, telling Punchbowl News on Thursday, "Tulsi Gabbard has assured me in our conversations that she supports Section 702 as recently amended and that she will follow the law and support its reauthorization as DNI."

Trump implored Republicans to "KILL FISA" as it was nearing its expiration date last year, noting, "IT WAS ILLEGALLY USED AGAINST ME, AND MANY OTHERS. THEY SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN."

To the great satisfaction of the Biden White House, the Republican-controlled House voted 273-147 in favor of reauthorizing the surveillance bill on April 12, 2024.

Despite the rejection of multiple proposed amendments that might have protected American citizens' privacy from the spying authority Gabbard now supports, Republican Sens. Lankford, John Barrasso (Wyo.), John Boozman (Ark.), Katie Britt (Ala.), Ted Budd (N.C.), Bill Cassidy (La.), Susan Collins (Maine), John Cornyn (Texas), Tom Cotton (Ark.), Mike Crapo (Idaho), Joni Ernst (Iowa), Deb Fischer (Neb.), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Chuck Grassley (Iowa), Cindy Hyde-Smith (Miss.), John Kennedy (La.), Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Jerry Moran (Kan.), Markwayne Mullin (Okla.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Pete Ricketts (Neb.), Mike Rounds (S.D.), Marco Rubio (Fla.), Dan Sullivan (Alaska), John Thune (S.D.), Thom Tillis (N.C.), Roger Wicker (Miss.), and Todd Young (Ind.) and former Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah) joined forces with Democrats to ensure its reauthorization.

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