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Republican Rep. Thomas Massie and Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard have introduced a bill to end the USA PATRIOT Act and warrantless spying on American citizens.
The duo have released their bill amid other challenges from Trump supporters and Rep. Gabbard to take on the Deep State in recent weeks.
This new attack on the PATRIOT Act dovetails with the Representatives’ efforts to convince President Donald Trump to pardon NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
USA PATRIOT Act Allows Mass, Warrantless Surveillance
“In our country, there are fundamental freedoms and rights that are enshrined in our the Constitution, guaranteed to every single American, among which are our right to privacy and protection of our civil liberties,” Gabbard said in a video promoting the bill.
The Representative from Hawaii noted that the 4th Amendment “very specifically prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures without a warrant based on probable cause,” but that, for years, government intelligence agencies (the Deep State) have conducted mass surveillance on Americans without a warrant.
“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” -Ben Franklin@RepThomasMassie & I intro’d ‘Protect Our Civil Liberties Act’ (HR8970) to repeal the so-called Patriot Act & end illegal government surveillance pic.twitter.com/QEB8gKxFKu
— Tulsi Gabbard ? (@TulsiGabbard) December 16, 2020
The PATRIOT Act and the FISA Amendments Act have allowed the government to collect phone records and emails en masse without probable cause.
RELATED: After Trump Teases Pardoning Snowden, Republicans Rand Paul, Matt Gaetz, And Others Come Out In Full Support
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The PATRIOT Act in particular, passed just after 9/11, permitted secret searches without the knowledge of the owner, and forced third parties to hand over your data to the government.
The bill was sold to Americans as an emergency war-time measure that would allow the government to spy on foreign terrorists.
As has been learned thanks to whistleblowers like Snowden, that is not the case.
“The intelligence community has not been transparent with the American people or even Congress about what they’ve been doing,” Gabbard argued.
Amen. James Clapper even admitted he lied to congress when he said “I responded in what I thought was the most truthful, or least untruthful, manner by saying ‘no,'” https://t.co/Tp5WfGvtIS
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) December 14, 2020
Massie: “It Is Long Past Time To Repeal The PATRIOT Act”
Gabbard said that her and Massie’s new bill, the “Protect Our Civil Liberties Act,” will “make sure that Congress re-examines how best to protect our national security interests, while also ensuring that the Constitutional rights of every single American is preserved.”
According to Gabbard, the bill would take a number of steps, including the repeal of the PATRIOT Act and the Fisa Amendments Act, requiring a warrant for the data collection of any American, and ensuring the Government Accountability Office monitor domestic surveillance programs for compliance annually.
The bill would also make any retaliation against government whistleblowers like Edward Snowden illegal.
Gabbard said it was thanks to him that we knew the violation of our Constitutional rights was even occurring in the first place.
The government would also no longer be allowed to place any “backdoors” into electronic devices.
These backdoors allow the government to bypass encryption, but also make any and all devices with the backdoor vulnerable to attacks from even less trustworthy individuals.
“Protection of our civil liberties is essential,” Gabbard concluded.
Rep. Massie said he was “honored” to cosponsor the bill with Gabbard, his “friend across the aisle.”
“Our Founding Fathers fought and died to stop the kind of warrantless spying and searches that the Patriot Act and the FISA Amendments Act authorize,” he said in a statement.
“It is long past time to repeal the PATRIOT Act and reassert the constitutional rights of all Americans.”
I’m honored to cosponsor a bill to repeal the Patriot Act with my friend across the aisle @TulsiGabbard https://t.co/dU3M53rSm8
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) December 16, 2020
RELATED: Tulsi Gabbard Fires Back At Left-Wing Critics Of Her Bill To Protect Women In Sports
Bill Would Be A Crushing Blow To The Deep State
The bill would certainly prove a thorn in the side to the Deep State, if not a crushing blow.
For years, the unelected bureaucrats of the defense and intelligence agencies have revelled in the ability to spy on any American it so chooses, and crush the lives of anybody like Snowden who dared to reveal the sheer scale of their Constitutional violations.
Massie and Gabbard have also called upon President Trump to pardon Edward Snowden, along with Julian Assange of Wikileaks.
.@realDonaldTrump Since you’re giving pardons to people, please consider pardoning those who, at great personal sacrifice, exposed the deception and criminality of those in the deep state. https://t.co/aeXklUsNSd
— Tulsi Gabbard ? (@TulsiGabbard) November 26, 2020
Now is the time to #pardonsnowden https://t.co/41MrrIYwYB
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) December 13, 2020
Finally, some bipartisanship that would actually benefit Americans, rather than further erode freedom.
The American people deserve 435 Massies and Gabbards.
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