Rep. Chris Stewart: Congress Can't Allow "American KGB" To Continue To Target U.S. Persons   Posted By Tim Hains  April 2, 2022

Utah Republican Rep. Chris Stewart told FNC's Tucker Carlsonon Friday that Congress needs to reassert control over the intelligence community's activities inside the U.S.

"If you want to build an American KGB, if you think that's a good idea, then keep going down this road."

"But if you think it's a horrible, fearsome idea, then please work with me to try and stop it," Stewart said to members of Congress.

"I wonder how many members of Congress feel intimidated to push back on the powers of these agencies?" Tucker Carlson asked.

"I guess we're going to find out," Stewart said.

REP. CHRIS STEWART: The whole point of having the intelligence community, NSA, CIA, and others -- is to concentrate on foreign threats, foreign terrorism. For nation-states. Russia, China, North Korea. It was never ever intended that they would look at U.S. persons until this administration comes along and says those other threats are important but the real threat we are worried about is domestic, violent extremism. DVE's they call them. White supremacists. Because this white supremacy threat is so great, which by the way is nonsense, but by their thinking, because this is such a great threat, now we need to use the power, the awesome tools we give the national security agencies or the DIA or the CIA, we are allowed to use them on U.S. persons, this administration says.

That is why you have a situation, like about a year ago, where the office of the director of national intelligence, not the FBI, not Homeland Security. The DNI, using the tools of the National Counterterrorism Center provides a briefing to Congress on what? "White supremacy." On domestic terrorism.

It should enrage Americans that they would think they are allowed to use this awesome power. If you think you want to build an American KGB, if you think that is a good idea, then keep going down this road. But if you think it's a horrible, fearsome idea, then please work with me, I'm talking to members of Congress, please work with me to try to stop it.

TUCKER CARLSON: They've spied on this show, they've admitted it. I've spoken directly with two sitting members of Congress whose job it is to oversee the intelligence agencies, who told me directly that they were being spied on by the intel agencies and they didn't do anything about it. I wonder how many members of congress are too intimidated to push back on the powers of these agencies?

REP. CHRIS STEWART: Well, I guess we are going to find out.

It's not just members of the press. We know that the CIA and Director Brennan lied about it when they were spying on members of the Senate. For heaven's sake, if the last four or five years have taught us anything, it has surely taught us that senior members of the FBI and the Department of Justice were clearly deceptive to Congress, deceptive to the FISA courts, deceptive to the American people, and now once again they want to increase that ability, enhance that ability by drawing in these other agencies.

Once again, there's no reason for it, there's no need for it. There are enough terror threats and other threats for them to [do], it's not like they've got extra bandwidth like they don't have anything else to do.

And very clearly, the Department of Justice and FBI, that is their responsibility. Not the CIA, not the NSA.