Assistant Secretary of State Calls FISA Abuses ‘Disturbing’ but Says Program Should Continue

The podium at the U.S. State Department in Washington on April 11, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

Assistant Secretary of State Brett Holmgren said on May 30 that abuses of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) are “disturbing,” but he said the program should continue.

Holmgren, who oversees the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), emphasized the national security and diplomatic uses of 702, downplaying abuses.