Over the weekend, President Donald Trump called for the Supreme Court to punish James Comey for FISA abuse. However, any action against the former FBI Director is going to have to come from the Justice Department.
The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (known as the “FISA Court” for short”) was established in 1978 under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. It approves or denies applications for surveillance warrants against foreign agents in the United States.
FISA abuse
Comey signed off on multiple applications to spy on members of the Trump campaign. The applications were based on claims about Trump’s connections with Russia, with the now-discredited “Steele Dossier” provided as evidence.
The dossier was a piece of opposition research paid for by the Clinton campaign, and contained a number of unverified claims. Additionally, some of the claims have since been disproven.
Comey and other high ranking officials are alleged to have misled the court about the dossier’s origins in order to fraudulently obtain surveillance warrants.
“Where is Justice Roberts?” Trump asked in a tweet on Sunday. “If you lie to a court, you should be held in contempt. So, if you abused the FISA, you must be held accountable. I hope Justice Roberts will take action.”
Trump was paraphrasing remarks that Utah’s Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R) made on an episode of “The Five” on Fox News.
“James Comey is not out of the woods yet,” Chaffetz stated. “If James Comey thinks he has won the day, are you kidding me? The first report on him said he acted as insubordinate. This is as damning as any report you’ll ever see from an inspector general.”
“The chief justice of the Supreme Court — once the inspector general does the FISA report — they could very well hold people in contempt,” he went on.
“James Comey’s autograph is on one of those [applications]. The Supreme Court should actually hold them accountable from misleading on the FISA abuse.”
It’s the DOJ’s move
FISA Court members are selected by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, but as the Daily Caller explained, Chief Justice Roberts actually has no power to impose contempt sanctions for FISA-related misconduct. Thus, any consequences will have to come from Trump’s own Department of Justice.
Last month, the inspector general’s report excoriated Comey for mishandling of classified documents but stopped short of recommending criminal charges. It did not address allegations of FISA abuse.
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