Surveillance Abuse: Who’s Watching the Watchmen

“I hate to use the word corrupt, but they become so dirty that, who is watching the watchmen? Who is investigating these people? There is no one."

--House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, (R-CA)

There is perhaps nothing more chilling than the thought of your government spying on you. It smacks of the old Soviet communist system in which the KGB had dirt on everyone. That’s why a report by one of the best journalists in television—Catherine Herridge of FOX – is so disturbing.  Herridge is reporting that House “investigators have already uncovered evidence of "abuse" in the U.S. government's surveillance practices.” Unsurprisingly the leftist media is ignoring the story. In his first interview since being cleared of what he believes are trumped up charges against him, Devin Nunes told Herridge, “We have had an ongoing investigation into DOJ [Department of Justice] and FBI since mid-summer for both FISA [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court] abuse and other matters that we can't get into too much. But it is very concerning." Nunes finally got the all-clear from a House Ethics Committee for allegedly releasing classified information connected to the Russia election collusion investigation. The inquiry into Nunes took eight months to complete. The California Republican claims it was an illegitimate charge aimed at shutting down his investigation into the unmasking of some in the Trump campaign staff:

“The ethics complaint was a joke from the beginning, designed, purely designed to remove me as the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, which they were unable to do.  I think, a clear design from the left, working in conjunction with parts of our government to keep information away from me and the House Intelligence Committee."

And just what information might that be? Nunes said there is a House Intelligence Committee investigation into the FBI, the Department of Justice and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA). Trust in the FBI is already waning as discussed in this report by Liberty Nation following the dismissal of partisan FBI Agent Peter Strzok by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. This just adds accelerant to the smoldering fire. Nunes confirmed that Strzok, Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe and perhaps even Christopher Steele, the former U.K. spook who put together the famed Trump dossier for Fusion GPS are at the center of his query. Those who follow politics closely may remember that Fusion GPS was on the payroll of the Democratic National Committee. It’s clear something doesn’t smell right to Nunes, and he’s paid for his instincts and maybe even some knowledge that he’s keeping under wraps for now. That’s likely to make him even more aggressive in getting to the bottom of U.S. surveillance techniques that may have crossed the line. While remaining circumspect in discussing the situation openly, Nunez is clearly worried about violations and maybe even criminal behavior by America’s top policing and spy agencies. And that should concern us all.