1、CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i FBI v. Fazaga: Supreme Court Examines Interplay of State Secrets Privilege and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act January 12, 2022 On November 8, 2021, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Fed
2、eral Bureau of Investigation (FBI) v. Fazaga, a case that explores the circumstances in which a federal court may examine classified information in a civil lawsuit in order to review the legality of certain government surveillance activities. The plaintiffs in Fazaga are three Muslim individuals who
3、 allege that the FBI directed a confidential informant to conduct surveillance at the plaintiffs homes, businesses, and places of worship based purely on their religious identity. Such surveillance was conducted under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA), which authorizes, among
4、other things, electronic surveillance and physical searches if there is probable cause to believe that the targets are agents of a foreign power. The plaintiffs sued the government alleging various constitutional and statutory claims. The plaintiffs also sued several FBI officials in their individua