Rep. Steve Scalise on ‘abused’ FISA court: ‘Dirty cops who broke the law’
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pulls vote on FISA bill after Trump threatens to veto measure; reaction and analysis from House Minority Whip Steve Scalise on ‘America’s Newsroom.’
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Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., explained Thursday his sudden opposition to the bill to reauthorize advanced surveillance tools used by law enforcement, telling Fox News' Sandra Smith that the FISA court was "abused by people who were literally trying to start a coup against the president."
"Whether you agree or disagree with the FISA court, it was abused by people who were literally trying to start a coup against the president of the United States," Scalise said, pointing to a slew of recent developments of apparent FBI misconduct in the Russia probe.
"This court should not be abused to try to take down a candidate for president that some people over at the FBI disagreed with."
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Scalise made the comment on "America's Newsroom" hours after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., decided to officially pull the bill from consideration when it became clear that House Republicans, who supported the bill back in March, would no longer back the measure. President Trump, who also initially supported the bill, threatened earlier on Wednesday to invoke a veto if it passed.
Scalise said that while the FISA court is "an important tool in our national security," it was "heavily abused" by "dirty cops who broke the law," referring to the recent bombshell revelations in connection to the Michael Flynn case and the broader Russia probe.
"There has been no accountability yet," he said. "We’ve been calling for a long time on real accountability and getting all the facts out, we haven’t seen all the facts yet and I think the American people deserve to know how this law is important but was abused and that it’s not going to happen again."
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Scalise said that until he can get "that assurance," Republican lawmakers will continue to oppose the bill.
"There has yet to be accountability," the lawmaker reiterated. "That needs to happen so the people that are over there now that abused the court, are not around anymore to abuse it in the future."
Fox News' Marisa Schultz contributed to this report.
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