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“ agent of a foreign power ” did not apply to individuals who acted alone and were not a part of a state-sponsored terrorist group inhibiting the law ’ s application to terrorist investigations such as in the case of Moussaoui .
This IRTPA was not without its critics . Some felt the FISA , in its original interpretation , did allow the FBI to address unaffiliated individuals and considered it an overreach of law enforcement to target individuals without ties to foreign governments ( DeRosa 2005 ). On December 31 , 2009 , the President signed the IRTPA into law ( Bazen and Yeh 2006 , 1 ). The FISA was amended to say :
SEC . 6001 . INDIVIDUAL TERRORISTS AS AGENTS OF FOR- EIGN POWERS .
( a ) IN GENERAL .— Section 101 ( b )( 1 ) of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 ( 50 U . S . C . 1801 ( b )( 1 )) is amended by adding at the end the following new subparagraph :
“( C ) engages in international terrorism or activities in preparation therefore ; or ”.
( b ) SUNSET .— The amendment made by subsection ( a ) shall be subject to the sunset provision in section 224 of Public Law 107 – 56 ( 115 Stat . 295 ), including the exception provided in subsection ( b ) of such section 224 ( Bazen and Yeh 2006 , sec . 6001 ).
As the original FISA law focused primarily on foreign intelligence activities , not terrorism , the IRTPA appeared to be a much-needed update to an outdated law . The IRTPA also signified a shift by Congress from creating laws dealing with intelligence collection by the USIC and beginning to include terrorism into future legislation systematically . The Assistant Attorney General at that time , David Kris , testified during a U . S . Senate hearing that the FBI had not used this provision in the five years since the passage of the law ( Statement of David Kris , Assistant Attorney General Before the Committee on the Judiciary , United States Senate Entitled “ Reauthorizing the USA Patriot Act : Ensuring Liberty and Security ” 2009 , 4 ). Kris argued in his testimony that the law offered a tool having application should a terrorist self-radicalize or “… severs his connection with his group …” ( Statement of David Kris , Assistant Attorney General Before the Committee on the Judiciary , United States Senate Entitled “ Reauthorizing the USA Patriot Act : Ensuring Liberty and Security ” 2009 , 5 ). Despite closing a loophole , there was an unforeseen problem concerning domestic terrorist acts . The IRTPA law states an individual who “… engages in international terrorism …” shall be included within the FISA law . The law fails to address those who commit domestic terrorism or where their relationship with a terrorist group , international or domestic , is not known .
The issue regarding domestic terrorism and U . S . laws are not usually a significant problem as most domestic terrorism investigations rarely use the FISA
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