Sen. Cruz Applauds Senate Passage of USA FREEDOM Reauthorization Act of 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of both the Senate Judiciary Committee and Foreign Relations Committee, today issued the following statement regarding the Senate's passage of the USA FREEDOM Reauthorization Act of 2020, legislation to protect American civil liberties and national security:

"Last year the Inspector General released a deeply troubling report detailing serious abuses of power by the FBI and DOJ. Officials at these agencies created fraudulent evidence and submitted grossly misleading sworn statements full of DNC-funded misinformation in order to spy on the Trump presidential campaign. It was corrupt through and through, and has caused deep distrust between the American people and the top law enforcement officials in this country. Then, in March, we learned from the Inspector General that the FBI routinely fails to adhere to procedures designed to prevent FISA abuses. Given these findings, it is clear Congress needed to act to protect the American people from further abuses of power.

"I am pleased the Senate successfully adopted a bipartisan amendment from Sens. Lee and Leahy, which I cosponsored. Our amendment will make real progress in bringing needed oversight and accountability to the FISA process. Though much more work still needs to be done to reform FISA and protect Americans from abuses of power, the inclusion of our amendment in the USA FREEDOM Reauthorization Act is a strong step in the right direction, as it continues to protect Americans' civil liberties and ensures we maintain the tools that are needed to target violent terrorists and prevent acts of terror."

In December of last year, Sen. Cruz questioned Inspector General Michael Horowitz on his report regarding alleged abuses by the Department of Justice and FBI of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) against then-candidate Donald Trump. Watch his full line of questioning here.

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