House Committee Can Ask Chief Justice to Testify on FISA Court, But Cannot Force Him

[corbe]

House Committee Can Ask Chief Justice to Testify on FISA Court, But Cannot Force Him

by Ken Klukowski 10 Feb 2018 Washington, DC
 
Members of the House Intelligence Committee are exploring ways to get testimony from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts regarding FISA judges, but are deliberately trying to make sure they do not cross any constitutional lines in doing so.
FISA warrants are issued by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC), with any appeals going to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review (FISCR). Unlike other courts where both sides appear and present arguments, FISC proceedings typically involve only the government, making it all the more important that lawyers representing the executive branch must be fully transparent and reliable in what they present to the judge in their case.

Judges serving on FISC and FISC are real federal judges. Under Article III of the Constitution, all federal judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate for lifetime appointments. Among Article III judges serving on federal trial courts and federal appeals courts, Chief Justice Roberts appoints several of those judges to serve for seven years on one of the FISA courts, in addition to their ongoing duties on a regular federal court.

<..snip..>

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/02/10/house-committee-can-ask-chief-justice-to-testify-on-fisa-court-but-cannot-force-him/

[truth_seeker]

It appears the FISA system was badly abused. Roberts doesn't have power to change it.

Congress designed the system and could change it.

[edpc]

Roberts isn’t a huge fan of FISA.  One could only hope he’s picking strong judges with similar views to oversee the court process.

Roberts himself expressed some reservations about this judicial concept -- also known by the acronym FISA -- during his 2005 confirmation, one of the few times a federal judge has talked publicly about that court.

"I'll be very candid. When I first learned about the FISA court, I was surprised," he told senators. "It's not what we usually think of when we think of a court. We think of a place where we can go, we can watch, the lawyers argue, and it's subject to the glare of publicity. And the judges explain their decision to the public and they can examine them. That's what we think of as a court."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/02/02/what-to-know-about-fisa-court-super-secret-panel-that-grants-surveillance-warrants.html

[IsailedawayfromFR]

It appears the FISA system was badly abused. Roberts doesn't have power to change it.

Congress designed the system and could change it.

Congress of course, as representatives of the people, can do that.

For that matter, it can fire the Chief Justice if he refuses, should they wish.

[Sanguine]

Members of the House Intelligence Committee are... are deliberately trying to make sure they do not cross any constitutional lines....

That's an intriguing idea.  What a concept.