Liza Goitein
@lizagoitein.bsky.social
Senior Director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, reformed oboist and whitewater kayaker, mom of teenage twins. Opinions are my own.
On Sunday, the Trump administration missed a statutory deadline to declassify a FISA Court opinion from March that reportedly finds more Section 702 compliance issues affecting Americans’ rights. The administration is now in violation of the law. 1/18
September 16, 2026 at 4:10 PM
On Sunday, the Trump administration missed a statutory deadline to declassify a FISA Court opinion from March that reportedly finds more Section 702 compliance issues affecting Americans’ rights. The administration is now in violation of the law. 1/18
Last Friday, the nation solemnly observed the 25th anniversary of the heinous attacks of 9-11. Today marks a related anniversary that has gone largely unnoticed, as we begin the 26th year under the state of emergency declared on Sept. 14, 2001. 1/14
September 14, 2026 at 4:43 PM
Last Friday, the nation solemnly observed the 25th anniversary of the heinous attacks of 9-11. Today marks a related anniversary that has gone largely unnoticed, as we begin the 26th year under the state of emergency declared on Sept. 14, 2001. 1/14
Thread.
New reporting from @theguardian.com highlights DHS’s continued misuse of administrative subpoenas. As @emileayoub.bsky.social and I explain in a recent piece, this sweeping authority is long overdue for reforms. www.justsecurity.org/153773/admin...
September 1, 2026 at 4:16 PM
Thread.
Jay Clayton has been sworn in as Director of National Intelligence (DNI). What’s next for Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act? 1/17
August 5, 2026 at 7:07 PM
Jay Clayton has been sworn in as Director of National Intelligence (DNI). What’s next for Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act? 1/17
Today, two dozen national and local organizations wrote to Governor Green and asked him to recall the Hawai’i National Guard forces that he sent to Washington, DC, at President Trump’s request. 1/10 www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
Coalition Letter to Governor Green
The Brennan Center and more than twenty other organizations have sent a letter to Governor Green urging him to recall the Hawai’i National Guard members he sent to Washington, DC, at President Trump’s...
www.brennancenter.org
July 15, 2026 at 4:42 PM
Today, two dozen national and local organizations wrote to Governor Green and asked him to recall the Hawai’i National Guard forces that he sent to Washington, DC, at President Trump’s request. 1/10 www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
Today, more than two dozen national and local organizations wrote to Governor Whitmer and asked her to recall the Michigan National Guard forces that she sent to Washington, DC, at President Trump’s request. 1/11 www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
Coalition Letter to Governor Whitmer
The Brennan Center and more than two dozen other organizations have sent a letter to Governor Whitmer urging her to recall the Michigan National Guard members she sent to Washington, DC, at President ...
www.brennancenter.org
July 7, 2026 at 4:36 PM
Today, more than two dozen national and local organizations wrote to Governor Whitmer and asked her to recall the Michigan National Guard forces that she sent to Washington, DC, at President Trump’s request. 1/11 www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
Nineteen retired senior defense and military leaders who served under presidents of both parties have sent an extraordinary letter to 18 governors expressing concern over other governors’ recent deployments of National Guard forces to DC at Trump’s request. 1/8
NatSec-Letter-to-Gov-Spanberger-VA-re-DC-Deployments-2026-07-01
NatSec-Letter-to-Gov-Spanberger-VA-re-DC-Deployments-2026-07-01
natsec-letter-to-gov-spanberger-va-re-dc-deployments-2026-07-01.tiiny.site
July 1, 2026 at 8:14 PM
Nineteen retired senior defense and military leaders who served under presidents of both parties have sent an extraordinary letter to 18 governors expressing concern over other governors’ recent deployments of National Guard forces to DC at Trump’s request. 1/8
Over the past two weeks, five governors who previously condemned other states’ deployment of National Guard forces into Washington, DC have sent some of their own Guard forces into the city. Fortunately, at least two appear to be recognizing their mistake. 1/15
June 30, 2026 at 3:01 PM
Over the past two weeks, five governors who previously condemned other states’ deployment of National Guard forces into Washington, DC have sent some of their own Guard forces into the city. Fortunately, at least two appear to be recognizing their mistake. 1/15
An important new @brennancenter.org resource from my colleague @josephanunn.bsky.social.
Governors of many U.S. states and territories have sweeping power to use National Guard troops with relatively few legal constraints, new Brennan Center research shows. This is a dangerous state of affairs that’s ripe for abuse. Legislatures must act. 1/21
State and Territorial Laws Governing the National Guard
Vague, open-ended, and constitutionally questionable laws give governors dangerous discretion to decide when, where, and how to use troops.
www.brennancenter.org
June 23, 2026 at 1:17 PM
An important new @brennancenter.org resource from my colleague @josephanunn.bsky.social.
Section 702 sunsets today. What’s next? Surveillance can continue until March 2027 under a grandfather clause. In the meantime, Congress must take this opportunity to build real protections for Americans’ privacy into any Section 702 2.0. 1/17
June 12, 2026 at 4:56 PM
Section 702 sunsets today. What’s next? Surveillance can continue until March 2027 under a grandfather clause. In the meantime, Congress must take this opportunity to build real protections for Americans’ privacy into any Section 702 2.0. 1/17
Senator Cornyn just blocked a 9-month extension of Section 702 with a warrant requirement for backdoor searches. He then blocked a 5-week extension with no warrant requirement, just basic transparency measures. 1/2
June 10, 2026 at 9:20 PM
Senator Cornyn just blocked a 9-month extension of Section 702 with a warrant requirement for backdoor searches. He then blocked a 5-week extension with no warrant requirement, just basic transparency measures. 1/2
Sharing two new resources on FISA Section 702. First, my op-ed in @thehill.com today on why Pulte isn’t the only reason Section 702 renewal is stuck (spoiler alert: Republican leadership is refusing to allow votes on reforms that have broad bipartisan support): 1/2
thehill.com/opinion/cong...
thehill.com/opinion/cong...
Beyond Pulte, Congress cannot renew spy law without reforms
Pulte or no Pulte, renewal of Section 702 will be an uphill battle unless Republican leaders allow votes on genuine reform.
thehill.com
June 10, 2026 at 3:57 PM
Sharing two new resources on FISA Section 702. First, my op-ed in @thehill.com today on why Pulte isn’t the only reason Section 702 renewal is stuck (spoiler alert: Republican leadership is refusing to allow votes on reforms that have broad bipartisan support): 1/2
thehill.com/opinion/cong...
thehill.com/opinion/cong...
At dawn this morning, the Senate voted 47-52 not to advance a Section 702 reauthorization that would have given the Trump administration warrantless access to Americans’ communications. It’s an interim victory… but it’s crucial to take the right lessons from it. 1/11
June 5, 2026 at 11:13 AM
At dawn this morning, the Senate voted 47-52 not to advance a Section 702 reauthorization that would have given the Trump administration warrantless access to Americans’ communications. It’s an interim victory… but it’s crucial to take the right lessons from it. 1/11
Members of Congress who will not vote to reauthorize Section 702 as long as Bill Pulte is slated to become acting Director of National Intelligence aren’t jeopardizing national security—they’re protecting it. 1/15
June 5, 2026 at 1:52 AM
Members of Congress who will not vote to reauthorize Section 702 as long as Bill Pulte is slated to become acting Director of National Intelligence aren’t jeopardizing national security—they’re protecting it. 1/15
The Senate will take up Section 702 reauthorization again as early as tomorrow. The bill from reform opponents (Trump allies in Congress + Sen. Warner) doesn’t just fail to curb warrantless domestic spying. It actually expands the govt’s ability to use 702 against Americans. 1/18
June 3, 2026 at 5:57 PM
The Senate will take up Section 702 reauthorization again as early as tomorrow. The bill from reform opponents (Trump allies in Congress + Sen. Warner) doesn’t just fail to curb warrantless domestic spying. It actually expands the govt’s ability to use 702 against Americans. 1/18
On Friday, the Trump administration, which is demanding that Congress pass a straight reauthorization of FISA Section 702, missed a deadline to declassify a FISA Court opinion that reportedly reveals yet more major Section 702 compliance problems. 1/14
May 18, 2026 at 3:05 PM
On Friday, the Trump administration, which is demanding that Congress pass a straight reauthorization of FISA Section 702, missed a deadline to declassify a FISA Court opinion that reportedly reveals yet more major Section 702 compliance problems. 1/14
In today's @justsecurity.org, my colleague @hannahajames.bsky.social & I analyze Speaker Johnson's "new" proposal to reauthorize Section 702. It's the same as the one the House just rejected, and it places no new restrictions on backdoor searches. www.justsecurity.org/137206/johns...
Fool’s Gold: Speaker Johnson’s Section 702 proposal would place no limits on backdoor searches
A critique of the Speaker's most recent legislative proposal to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
www.justsecurity.org
April 26, 2026 at 5:29 PM
In today's @justsecurity.org, my colleague @hannahajames.bsky.social & I analyze Speaker Johnson's "new" proposal to reauthorize Section 702. It's the same as the one the House just rejected, and it places no new restrictions on backdoor searches. www.justsecurity.org/137206/johns...
After his spectacular failure to push through a reauthorization of Section 702 in the dead of night last Thursday, Speaker Johnson is trying again—with a new proposal that’s almost identical to the one that failed last week. 1/18
April 23, 2026 at 7:58 PM
After his spectacular failure to push through a reauthorization of Section 702 in the dead of night last Thursday, Speaker Johnson is trying again—with a new proposal that’s almost identical to the one that failed last week. 1/18
Speaker Johnson has dropped a new proposal to reauthorize Section 702. Not only does it fail to include a warrant requirement for backdoor searches, it makes no changes AT ALL to the standard or the procedures currently in place for conducting these searches. I'll have a thread coming soon.
April 23, 2026 at 5:48 PM
Speaker Johnson has dropped a new proposal to reauthorize Section 702. Not only does it fail to include a warrant requirement for backdoor searches, it makes no changes AT ALL to the standard or the procedures currently in place for conducting these searches. I'll have a thread coming soon.
Two senators you don’t often see together on a byline. As this important op-ed demonstrates, there’s broad bipartisan support for reforming Section 702 to protect Americans’ rights. Thank you @durbin.senate.gov & Senator Mike Lee for your leadership on this issue. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/o...
Opinion | We Disagree on a Lot. But We Know This Law Must Change.
www.nytimes.com
April 20, 2026 at 3:30 PM
Two senators you don’t often see together on a byline. As this important op-ed demonstrates, there’s broad bipartisan support for reforming Section 702 to protect Americans’ rights. Thank you @durbin.senate.gov & Senator Mike Lee for your leadership on this issue. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/o...
In a dramatic scene that unfolded in the wee hours this morning, members of the House defeated a ploy by the administration and Speaker Johnson to ram through a 5-year reauthorization of FISA Section 702. Here’s what happened, and what will/should happen next. 1/20
April 17, 2026 at 3:34 PM
In a dramatic scene that unfolded in the wee hours this morning, members of the House defeated a ploy by the administration and Speaker Johnson to ram through a 5-year reauthorization of FISA Section 702. Here’s what happened, and what will/should happen next. 1/20
The @nytimes.com has a story tonight that should put a nail in the coffin of the administration’s plans to push a straight reauthorization of FISA Section 702. Bottom line: the FBI is seemingly *still* engaged in systemic violations of the law. 1/20 www.nytimes.com/2026/04/09/u...
www.nytimes.com
April 10, 2026 at 3:55 AM
The @nytimes.com has a story tonight that should put a nail in the coffin of the administration’s plans to push a straight reauthorization of FISA Section 702. Bottom line: the FBI is seemingly *still* engaged in systemic violations of the law. 1/20 www.nytimes.com/2026/04/09/u...
Helpful thread pointing out errors in Glenn Gerstell's Lawfare piece about Section 702. I'll add another one... 1/3 bsky.app/profile/jake...
April 6, 2026 at 7:08 PM
Helpful thread pointing out errors in Glenn Gerstell's Lawfare piece about Section 702. I'll add another one... 1/3 bsky.app/profile/jake...
A new “staff report” on Section 702 came out of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) today. It’s a puff piece that suggests the FBI isn’t conducting *enough* warrantless searches for Americans’ communications. Here’s why the report can’t be taken seriously. 1/7
April 2, 2026 at 4:59 PM
A new “staff report” on Section 702 came out of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) today. It’s a puff piece that suggests the FBI isn’t conducting *enough* warrantless searches for Americans’ communications. Here’s why the report can’t be taken seriously. 1/7
Opponents of reforming FISA Section 702 cite a government statistic showing “only” a few thousand warrantless searches of Americans’ communications in 2024-25. In @justsecurity.org, @hannahajames.bsky.social & I discuss the truth behind that misleading statistic. www.justsecurity.org/135283/truth...
The Truth Behind Section 702 Query Statistics
Authors write that Congress must now impose a warrant requirement for Section 702 access to Americans' communications.
www.justsecurity.org
March 31, 2026 at 4:55 PM
Opponents of reforming FISA Section 702 cite a government statistic showing “only” a few thousand warrantless searches of Americans’ communications in 2024-25. In @justsecurity.org, @hannahajames.bsky.social & I discuss the truth behind that misleading statistic. www.justsecurity.org/135283/truth...