Wyoming
Hageman Votes Against Bill To Allow Warrantless Spying On Americans
Wyoming U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman voted Friday against continuing to allow the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct searches of Americans’ information without a warrant.
Hageman voted against a bill reauthorizing a part of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) known as Section 702, which national security officials say is critical to fighting terrorism.
Despite her vote, the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act still passed 273-147.
When an amendment failed that would have required the FBI to get warrants before surveilling American citizens, Hageman said House Resolution 7888 lost all ability to prevent the federal government from spying on Americans. The amendment died on a 212-212 tie.
“I refuse to support legislation that violates our Constitutional rights,” Hageman said in a Friday press release after the vote.
In a C-SPAN interview Thursday, Hageman said it’s important that Section 702 be reauthorized, as she believes it’s an important tool for American security. But she only wants this done if it comes with necessary reforms to protect American citizens from undue intrusions.
Section 702 allows the government to collect from U.S. companies like AT&T and Google the messages of foreigners who have been targeted for foreign intelligence or counterterrorism without a warrant, even when they are communicating with Americans, which is the source of most of its controversy.
Hageman has constantly criticized some of America’s intelligence agencies for what she sees as an abuse and overreach of their powers to target people these organizations see as political adversaries.
“The reality is that the FBI and other agencies have been abusing Section 702,” she said.
Weaponization
Some of the issues Hageman has publicly addressed include the FBI and DOJ’s pressure campaign on Twitter during the COVID-19 pandemic, the targeting of certain Catholics, people attending school board meetings, and the charges brought against former President Donald Trump.
This week, Trump implored lawmakers to “kill” FISA, complaining that government officials had used it to spy on him.
The office of the Director for National Intelligence found that in 2021, the FBI conducted 3.3 million queries into U.S. citizens without warrants. By 2022, the FBI was still conducting hundreds of warrantless queries per day. Last May, the Washington Post reported that in 2020 and early 2021, the FBI conducted more than 278,000 searches of the 702 database, which violated DOJ rules and often lacked national security connections.
Some of the searches on Americans have included queries on Black Lives Matter protestors and people suspected of participating in the U.S. Capitol riot in January 2021.
According to The New York Times, national security officials argue removing the ability to surveil Americans without warrants could hinder their program as they typically spy on Americans early on in investigations to learn more about their phone numbers or email accounts in connection with a suspected foreign spy or terrorist before there is enough evidence collected to issue a warrant.
The Times also reports that the FBI has since tightened its system to reduce the risk of queries that violate its own standards, changes the bill will codify into law, as well as adding reporting requirements and limiting the number of officials with access to raw information.
“Hopefully, we can get to the place where we have the necessary reforms to make sure that the FBI and Department of Justice cannot do what it’s been doing over the last several years,” Hageman said.
Specifically, Hageman said she wants a warrant requirement for all surveillance of Americans, an effort also supported by some Democrats like Zoe Lofgren of California.
As a member of the Judiciary Committee, Hageman has already helped bring reforms on this issue such as legislation addressing what she sees as abuses of FISA, while still allowing it to be used to detect international threats.
She said the real hurdle has been finding agreement between this committee, the House Permanent Select Committee On Intelligence, and the overall intelligence community.
Bigger Picture
But Hageman also stressed on C-SPAN that she finds the overall debate about surveillance rights extremely worthy and a valuable piece of a larger conversation about how far the power of intelligence communities can extend in relation to American civil liberties and the U.S. Constitution.
“I land on the side of civil liberties,” she said. “I want to make sure we’re protecting the constitutional rights of American citizens.”
Hageman said Thursday she is confident the issue will be resolved before Section 702 expires.
But even if Section 702 is allowed to expire April 19, Hageman said she’s not concerned, and believes America’s intelligence agencies will still be able to do their jobs despite lacking the guarantee of a future database to conduct warrantless surveillance searches. Last week, the FISA court granted a government request authorizing it for another year through April 2025.
Under the law, surveillance activity can continue as long as there are active court orders allowing it, even if it expires itself.
Some far-right members of Congress like Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene, R-Georgia, have called for the removal of House Speaker Mike Johnson over his push to resolve the issue.
In an effort to salvage a compromise, Johnson on Friday put forward a shorter extension proposal for Section 702, from five to two years, a move that appeared to win over many Republicans with the possibility that Trump may be president again at that time.
Hageman said on C-SPAN she still fully supports the speaker and doesn’t find this division significant.
“The fact is Republicans don’t ever walk in lockstep, that’s one of the reasons we’re Republicans,” she said. “We’re very independent-minded and independent thinkers. I think that’s in contrast to a lot of Democrats.”
The bill will next move on to the Senate for consideration.
Leo Wolfson can be reached at Leo@CowboyStateDaily.com.
ROCK SPRINGS, Wyoming (KUTV) — A man was hospitalized with critical injuries after he was reportedly shot by a deputy responding to reports of a disturbance.
Deputies with the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office and officers with the Rock Springs Police Department responded to the Sweetwater Heights apartment complex in the 2100 block of Century Boulevard just after 4 a.m. on Monday to investigate reports of a disturbance involving an armed individual.
Information that dispatch received indicated that the individual had shot himself. When officials arrived, they found the individual on the balcony of an upstairs apartment “who appeared to have a gunshot wound consistent with the initial report,” a press release states.
MORE | Officer-Involved Shooting
During the encounter, a deputy discharged their weapon and struck the individual.
Emergency medical personnel rendered aid, and the individual was transported to an area hospital in critical condition.
No law enforcement officers or members of the public were injured during the incident.
The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation will conduct an independent investigation.
The deputy who fired their weapon was placed on administrative leave per standard protocol.
_____
by Maggie Mullen, WyoFile
Albert Sommers, former Wyoming Speaker of the House, announced Thursday he will attempt to reclaim a seat he formerly held for more than a decade in the statehouse.
“Leadership matters,” Sommers, a lifelong cattle rancher, wrote in a press release. “Right now, the Wyoming House is too often focused on division instead of solutions. We need steady, effective leadership that solves problems—not rhetoric and political theater.”
Voters in 2013 first elected Sommers to House District 20, which encompasses Sublette County and an eastern section of Lincoln County. As a lawmaker, Sommers largely focused on health care, education and water issues. Over six terms, he rose through the ranks, serving in leadership positions and chairing committees focused on education funding and broadband.
In his announcement, Sommers highlighted his legislative work to establish funding for rural hospitals, prioritize “responsible property tax relief,” as well as the creation of the Wyoming Colorado River Advisory Committee within the State Engineer’s Office, “to ensure our water users have a voice in critical decisions affecting the Green River Valley,” he wrote.
As speaker, Sommers was a frequent target of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus as well as the DC-based State Freedom Caucus Network, even getting the attention of Fox News and other national, conservative news outlets. They often accused Sommers of not being conservative enough, and criticized him for keeping bills in “the drawer,” which has long been code for the unilateral power a speaker has to kill legislation by holding it back. (The practice of holding bills has been used to a much higher degree under Freedom Caucus leadership.)
In 2023, Sommers used the speaker’s powers to kill bills related to a school voucher program, banning instruction on gender and sexual orientation from some classrooms and criminalizing gender-affirming care for minors. At the time, Sommers defended his decision to hold back “bills that are unconstitutional, not well vetted, duplicate bills or debates, and bills that negate local control, restrict the rights of people or risk costly litigation financed by the people of Wyoming.”
He reiterated that philosophy and defended his record in his Thursday campaign announcement.
“I am a common-sense conservative who believes in getting things done. I support our core industries—oil and gas, ranching, and tourism—and I will continue to fight for the people and natural resources of Sublette County and LaBarge. I am pro-gun, pro-life, pro-family, and pro-education,” Sommers wrote. “I also take seriously my oath to uphold the U.S. and Wyoming Constitutions, which means I didn’t support bills that violated those constitutions. I read bills carefully and I voted accordingly.”
Following his term as speaker, Sommers stepped away from the House to run for Senate District 14 in 2024. He lost in the primary election to political newcomer Laura Pearson, a Freedom Caucus-endorsed Republican from Kemmerer, who also won in the general election. Her Senate win coincided with the Freedom Caucus winning control of the House.
“That race didn’t go my way, and I respected the outcome,” Sommers said in a Thursday press release. But “the direction of the Wyoming House,” since then, he said, has “raised serious concerns.”
Sommers pointed to the Freedom Caucus and its budget proposal, which, despite a funding surplus, included major cuts and funding denials. Ahead of the session, the caucus said its sights were set on shrinking spending and limiting the growth of government.
In his Thursday press release, Sommers criticized “decisions that cut food assistance for vulnerable children, reduced business opportunities, slashed funding to the University of Wyoming, eliminated resources for cheatgrass control, denied raises for state employees, and removed positions critical to protecting Wyoming’s water rights.”
Most of those proposals did not make it into the final budget bill.
Sommers also pointed to a controversy that dominated the 2026 session after a Teton County conservative activist handed out campaign checks to lawmakers on the House floor. Lawmakers in both chambers unanimously voted to ban such behavior before a House Special Investigative Committee found that the exchange did not violate the Wyoming Constitution nor did it amount to legislative misconduct. A Laramie County Sheriff’s Office criminal investigation is still underway.
But “controversies like ‘Checkgate’ undermined public trust, and decorum in the House deteriorated,” Sommers said.
“Transparency and accessibility will remain central to how I serve,” Sommers said. “As I’ve done before, I will provide regular updates on legislation, seek your input, and clearly explain my votes.”
Incumbent bows out
Rep. Mike Schmid, R-La Barge, currently represents House District 20, but announced Thursday morning that he would not seek reelection.
“It has truly been an honor to serve as your State Representative for House District 20. When I first ran, I had hoped to serve up to three terms and continue building on what I learned during my first term,” Schmid wrote in a Facebook post. “But life can change your priorities. Over the past year, my family has gone through some difficult times. My wife is dealing with serious health issues, and the death of my brother, Jim, just a few short weeks ago have made it clear to me where I need to spend my time.”
In March, Bill Winney, a perennial candidate and former nuclear submarine commander, announced he would run for House District 20.
The official candidate filing period opens May 14.
This article was originally published by WyoFile and is republished here with permission. WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.
Related
The following is a news release from the Wyoming’s Rock Springs Police Department:
ROCK SPRINGS, Wyo. — The Rock Springs Police Department is investigating a fatal incident that occurred early this morning in the parking lot of the Flying J Travel Center.
At approximately 5:00 a.m., a Flying J employee was working to direct commercial vehicle traffic within the lot. Initial findings suggest that as one semitruck began to move, the employee was positioned between that vehicle and a second stationary vehicle. The employee was subsequently pinned between the two units.
Rock Springs Fire Department and Castle Rock Ambulance arrived on the scene and coordinated life-saving measures. Despite the rapid response and medical intervention, the employee was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The identity of the deceased is being withheld at this time pending the notification of family members.
The driver involved in the incident, a resident of Idaho, remained on-site and has been fully cooperative with investigators. Following an initial statement and questioning, the driver was released. While the investigation remains open, the incident currently appears to be a tragic accident.
We extend our deepest condolences to the family of the deceased and the staff at Flying J. We also want to commend the rapid response and professional life-saving efforts coordinated by Rock Springs Fire and Castle Rock Ambulance during this difficult call.
=htmlentities(get_the_title())?>%0D%0A%0D%0A=get_permalink()?>%0D%0A%0D%0A=htmlentities(‘For more stories like this one, be sure to visit https://www.eastidahonews.com/ for all of the latest news, community events and more.’)?>&subject=Check%20out%20this%20story%20from%20EastIdahoNews” class=”fa-stack jDialog”>
-
Business2 minutes agoNew lawsuit alleges Uber is violating drivers’ rights. Here’s how
-
Entertainment8 minutes agoReview: Trigger warning? ‘For Want of a Horse’ gives new meaning to the term ‘animal lover’
-
Lifestyle14 minutes agoMore is more in this L.A. ‘barn’ exploding with thrifted finds and maximalist flair
-
Politics20 minutes agoFormer state Controller Betty Yee drops out of the governor’s race
-
Sports32 minutes agoPrep talk: Another book is out from running coach Martin Dugard
-
World44 minutes agoAppetite among NATO members to join Iran war ‘very limited’, says Eide
-
New York3 hours agoHarvey Weinstein’s Third Trial on Rape Charge Opens in Manhattan
-
Detroit, MI3 hours agoMan jumps into action to save girlfriend in crash involving teen driver fleeing MSP