美国国家公共电台 NPR Scathing Report Puts Secret FISA Court Into The Spotlight. Will Congress Act?

Scathing¹ Report Puts Secret FISA Court Into The Spotlight². Will Congress Act?

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

Even by the secretive standards of U.S. national security, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court is cloaked in mystery. It oversees³ government surveillance on American soil in terrorism and espionage⁴ investigations⁶. But a recent report from the Justice Department's inspector⁷ general has raised questions about how the court protects the rights of Americans and whether it needs to be reformed. NPR justice correspondent Ryan Lucas brings us this report.

RYAN LUCAS, BYLINE⁸: When the FBI wants to wiretap an American suspected of spying for a foreign power or belonging to a terrorist group, it needs to get court approval. That comes from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, also known as the FISA Court. That approval process plays out in secret behind closed doors. There are now growing calls to change how this works, including from Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Lindsey Graham.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

LINDSEY GRAHAM: I'd hate to lose the ability of the FISA Court to operate at a time, probably, when we need it the most. But after your report, I have serious concerns about whether the FISA Court can continue unless there is fundamental reform.

LUCAS: The report Graham refers to there is Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz's review of the early days of the Russia investigation⁵. Horowitz's report came out last week. And it focuses, in part, on the FBI surveillance of former Trump⁹ campaign adviser¹⁰ Carter Page. What Horowitz discovered was 17 significant inaccuracies and omissions¹¹ in the FBI's applications to wiretap Page.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MICHAEL HOROWITZ: We found that investigators¹² failed to meet their basic obligations of ensuring that the FISA applications were scrupulously¹³ accurate.

LUCAS: Information that supported the FBI's case was given to the court, while information that undercut it was left out. For longtime critics of the FISA process, the problems the inspector general unearthed¹⁴ point to what they say are deeper issues with national security surveillance. Here's Elizabeth Goitein of the Brennan Center for Justice.

ELIZABETH GOITEIN: The way the system is built enables this kind of one-sided presentation that results in violations¹⁵ of the privacy of Americans.

LUCAS: The problems with the Page case have generated blowback, including from the FISA Court itself. The court's chief judge, Rosemary Collyer, issued a rare public order this week that sharply rebuked¹⁶ the FBI. She said the bureau has an obligation to be fully¹⁷ forthcoming with the court, and in the case of Page, it most definitely was not. She has ordered the government to tell the court by January 10 what it plans to do to make sure inaccuracies and omissions don't happen again.

There was a line tucked inside her order that pointed¹⁸ to a broader issue, as well. She said the frequency of the FBI's misrepresentations raises questions about the accuracy of its other surveillance requests. It's a point that lawmakers, including Republican Senator Ben Sasse, have also made.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BEN SASSE: If the American people hear this and they say this can happen against a campaign for the presidency¹⁹ of the United States, what happens in an ordinary FISA case?

LUCAS: For civil liberties advocates, such questions about FISA are not new. They have long expressed concerns about the government's use of intrusive²⁰ surveillance on, say, Muslim Americans. But the Page case has registered with congressional hawks²¹ in a way those concerns never did.

Sasse and other lawmakers who have defended national security surveillance in the past now say Congress may need to make changes to FISA. And lawmakers will soon have a chance to do so. Three parts of FISA are set to expire in March. The Brennan Center's Goitein says that gives members of Congress a chance to address the problems raised by the inspector general's report.

GOITEIN: So we'll see if they've had a change of heart, whether they're actually going to build in greater civil liberties protections or whether all of this talk about FISA reform was just political posturing²².

LUCAS: For all the talk of reform, those who have used FISA to track foreign spies and terrorists say it is, in many ways, irreplaceable.

STEPHANIE DOUGLAS: FISA is an incredibly important tool...

LUCAS: That's Stephanie Douglas. She used to be in charge of the FBI's national security branch.

DOUGLAS: ...Not just in counterintelligence investigations but also a very important tool in counterterrorism investigations and even some cyber investigations.

LUCAS: Douglas, who now works for Guidepost Solutions, says the process for getting FISA orders may need to be tightened²³. But this kind of surveillance power shouldn't be tossed out entirely²⁴. That's the line from FBI Director Christopher Wray, as well. He says he's ordered corrective steps to fix the FBI's FISA process. The goal, he says, is to make sure that the information presented to the court is verified, reviewed and accurate.

Ryan Lucas, NPR News, Washington.

1 scathing   

adj.（言词、文章）严厉的，尖刻的；不留情的adv.严厉地，尖刻地v.伤害，损害（尤指使之枯萎）( scathe的现在分词)

参考例句：

• a scathing attack on the new management 针对新的管理层的猛烈抨击
• Her speech was a scathing indictment of the government's record on crime. 她的演讲强烈指责了政府在犯罪问题上的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

3 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

4 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

5 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

6 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

7 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

8 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

9 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

10 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

11 omissions   

n.省略( omission的名词复数 )；删节；遗漏；略去或漏掉的事（或人）

参考例句：

• In spite of careful checking, there are still omissions. 饶这么细心核对，还是有遗漏。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• It has many omissions; even so, it is quite a useful reference book. 那本书有许多遗漏之处，即使如此，尚不失为一本有用的参考书。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 scrupulously   

adv.一丝不苟地；小心翼翼地，多顾虑地

参考例句：

• She toed scrupulously into the room. 她小心翼翼地踮着脚走进房间。 来自辞典例句
• To others he would be scrupulously fair. 对待别人，他力求公正。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史

14 unearthed   

出土的（考古）

参考例句：

• Many unearthed cultural relics are set forth in the exhibition hall. 展览馆里陈列着许多出土文物。
• Some utensils were in a state of decay when they were unearthed. 有些器皿在出土时已经残破。

15 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

16 rebuked   

责难或指责( rebuke的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The company was publicly rebuked for having neglected safety procedures. 公司因忽略了安全规程而受到公开批评。
• The teacher rebuked the boy for throwing paper on the floor. 老师指责这个男孩将纸丢在地板上。

17 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

18 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

19 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

20 intrusive   

adj.打搅的；侵扰的

参考例句：

• The cameras were not an intrusive presence.那些摄像机的存在并不令人反感。
• Staffs are courteous but never intrusive.员工谦恭有礼却从不让人感到唐突。

21 hawks   

鹰( hawk的名词复数 )； 鹰派人物，主战派人物

参考例句：

• Two hawks were hover ing overhead. 两只鹰在头顶盘旋。
• Both hawks and doves have expanded their conditions for ending the war. 鹰派和鸽派都充分阐明了各自的停战条件。

22 posturing   

做出某种姿势( posture的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She was posturing a model. 她正在摆模特儿的姿势。
• She says the President may just be posturing. 她说总统也许只是在做样子而已。

23 tightened   

收紧( tighten的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）变紧； （使）绷紧； 加紧

参考例句：

• The rope holding the boat suddenly tightened and broke. 系船的绳子突然绷断了。
• His index finger tightened on the trigger but then relaxed again. 他的食指扣住扳机，然后又松开了。

24 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。