Intelligence

Most people today do not remember the Church Committee. It was a group of senators headed by Frank Church who set about to investigate what is called today the deep state. They discovered that the various intelligence agencies were operating under cover without direct over sight. This led to serious abuses of power. As the information was made public the bureaucracy went after Church with all types of under handed releases of false information but it didn't work and the agencies had to start with a clean slate. Things still got a little out of control but when 9-11 happened that opened the door to push these agencies once again into darkness. The Patriot Act gave new powers to these groups and many feel it is time for another Church Committee. These intelligence groups are once again operating without proper oversight and this leads to abuse of power. The FISA court is one example. This is the court where intelligence agents go to get warrants to spy on people. Over the entire 33 year period the FISA court has been in operation the court granted 33,942 warrants with only 12 denials. The Fiscal Year 2023 budget appropriation included $71.7 billion for the National Intelligence Program.