The Senate voted Thursday 65 to 34 to reauthorize the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) — a piece of legislation that was recently set to expire — without significant changes to the government’s surveillance apparatus. The bill, which passed the House 256-164 last week, extends Section 702 of the FISA program for six years if […]
Treasury and IRS Release New Guidance on Tax Withholding…
The IRS and Treasury Department on Thursday issued new guidance on tax withholding from employees’ paychecks, a key step in its implementation of the new tax law that President Trump signed last month. The new guidance will allow many taxpayers to start seeing bigger paychecks due to the new law. The IRS is instructing employers […]
With Support From Nancy Pelosi, House Gives Trump Administration Broad Latitude to Spy on Americans…
With bipartisan backing, the House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that would renew one of the government’s most sweeping surveillance authorities for six years with minimal changes. The measure, which passed 256-164, reauthorized Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which was set to expire later this month. The law was first passed […]
What HPSCI Wants to Protect in 702: Back Doors, the Tor Exception, and a Dysfunctional FISC…
House GOP Plan for Separate Section 702 Law, ‘Dead for Now’…
House Republicans’ plans to vote on a stand-alone bill to renew a controversial surveillance authority are dead “for now,” House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) told reporters less than 24 hours after lawmakers scheduled a Rules Committee vote on the measure. GOP lawmakers will attempt to hash out stark divisions in a conference meeting […]
Flynn Refusal Sets Up Potential Subpoena Showdown…
Former national security adviser Michael Flynn on Monday reportedly declined to cooperate with a Senate subpoena, setting up a potential showdown between Congress and the administration over a key witness in the investigation into Russian interference in the presidential election. Flynn for months has said he would testify before Congress only if granted immunity, a […]
Wyden: Senate IT Systems Are ‘Far Behind’ on Basic Cybersecurity…
The U.S. Senate is “far behind when it comes to implementing basic cybersecurity practices,” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said in a letter sent Thursday to the Senate Rules Committee. Wyden urges committee chair Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and ranking member Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., to improve information security in all Senate IT systems by requiring […]
Senate Allows DOJ’s Rule 41 Changes To Become Law – FBI Can Now Hack Any PC in the World…
The FBI and others will be able to take advantage of the removal of jurisdictional limits to search computers anywhere in the world using a single warrant issued by a magistrate judge. It will also be granted the same power for use in the disruption of botnets — in essence, searches/seizures of devices owned by […]