FBI chief makes fresh pitch for spy program renewal and says it’d be ‘devastating’ if it lapsed

By ERIC TUCKER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — FBI Director Christopher Wray is making a fresh pitch for the reauthorization of a U.S. government surveillance tool set to expire at the end of the year. He warned lawmakers at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday that there would be “devastating” consequences for public safety if the program is allowed to lapse. At issue is Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows the U.S. government to collect without a warrant the communications of targeted foreigners outside the United States. The program was created in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and is due to expire at the end of this month unless Congress votes to reauthorize it.