Trump-Era DOJ and Intelligence Policy

Republican lawmakers are attacking the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court’s decision this month to appoint Jennifer Daskal, a former adviser to the Biden administration’s Disinformation Governance Board, as an amicus curiae to help evaluate secret government surveillance requests. As an amicus, Daskal joins a small group of outside lawyers whom FISC judges can tap to argue for or against granting wiretaps and other foreign‑intelligence surveillance, including in cases that may involve U.S. persons. House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan called it "ridiculous" that someone who helped build what he characterizes as a censorship board is now tasked with advising on civil‑liberties safeguards, and Sen. Eric Schmitt labeled the appointment "insane," circulating a prior hearing clip where he grilled Daskal on COVID and election‑related content moderation. Sen. Chuck Grassley cited the move as further evidence Congress should have a say in selecting FISC amici and pointed to his FISA Accountability Act, which would give lawmakers that authority. The backlash comes right after the House passed a FISA Section 702 renewal without requiring warrants for U.S. data, keeping the court’s secret proceedings and its choice of advisers at the center of a long‑running fight over past abuses, like the Carter Page warrants, and the balance between national security and privacy.