This Week with Gosar
December 3, 2023
Team Gosar Visits Luke AFB
This week, members of my amazing staff had the pleasure to meet with Brigadier General Jason Rueschhoff and his team at Luke Air Force Base to receive a briefing on efforts to maintain a strong military, as well as the efforts to inform members of the community of the importance of having this military base in the West Valley. One of the highlights was viewing F35 takeoffs from the air tower catwalk. Thank you to everyone at Luke AFB for making this visit possible.
Congressman George Santos Unwisely Expelled from Congress
This week, the House of Representatives voted to expel New York Congressman George Santos from Congress by a three-to-one margin. I voted against his removal.
Mr. Santos was found by the House Ethics Committee to have violated certain House rules. But that same committee has also found New York Representative Jamal Bowman in violation for obstructing congress by intentionally and illegally pulling a fire alarm. That committee also found New York Representative Ocasio-Cortez to have illegally accepted a $40,000 gift and misusing campaign funds. My colleague from Arizona, Mr. Schweikert, has 11 ethics violations, was fined $50,000 for lying to the Ethics Committee and fined $175,000 by the Federal Election Committee for misusing campaign money.
Are we to now remove all of them as well? Let me know your thoughts on this, send me an email at rep.paul.gosar@mail.house.gov.
Congressman Santos has not had his day in court on any issue. He is and was presumed innocent. If ethics violations are enough to remove a member, then there are over a dozen members who must be removed now. Mr. Santos was entitled to a presumption of innocence. He was not afforded that right in Congress.
Which reminds me: be sure to scroll down and check out the Tweet of the Week.
Laundering Investigator Flagged Biden Corruption Money
Years before Biden became President, he began weaving his web of corruption by selling out the American people to foreign nations for his own personal benefit. This week it was revealed that a bank money laundering investigator raised concerns in a 2018 email about a $5 million payment to a Hunter Biden owned entity from a Chinese company that is linked to communist China. The money ultimately resulted in a $40,000 personal check made out to Biden from his brother James as a “loan repayment,” which I discussed in a previous newsletter here. The investigator noticed erratic payments from the Chinese company, which served no purpose as there were no services rendered nor any ongoing business between the two entities. These red flags were so major that the investigator suggested a complete re-evaluation of their ties with “the customer” in the first place. Cocky because they think that they are untouchable and above the law, the Biden Crime Syndicate is brazened in their corruption.
This is not the first time a check made out to Joe Biden has come under scrutiny. I also previously discussed a fishy $200,000 payment to Joe Biden from his sister-in-law here. Shedding light on this misuse of power by the corrupt Biden family is especially important as the Fake News continues to dismiss or deny coverage of these scandals. I serve on the House Committee of Oversight and Accountability and will continue working tirelessly to expose Biden’s corruption and betrayal of the American people to foreign governments, including China and Ukraine.
Congress Should Not Reauthorize Section 702 of FISA
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) was enacted by Congress in 2008 to ostensibly allow the United States intelligence community to surveil foreigners located abroad. Purportedly, Congress wrote this law to protect our national security by allowing spying on non-U.S. threats without a court order.
Congress is currently considering reauthorizing Section 702, which is set to expire at the end of this year. Congress reauthorized the spy program in 2012 and again in 2018. Rife with abuse and overreach, I voted against reauthorizing Section 702 in the past and I intend to oppose its reauthorization once again this time.
Section 702 has been controversial since its inception, and it has been highly scrutinized by civil liberties advocates and privacy rights activists. There are numerous reasons why Congress should not reauthorize section 702 FISA warrants.
First and foremost, the warrantless surveillance authorized under Section 702 is a clear overreach of authority and is a direct violation of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. The government’s ability to collect and analyze the communications of non-U.S. individuals without a warrant has led to the collection of communications of American citizens and raises serious concerns about the indiscriminate and broad nature of the surveillance program, further infringing on the rights of Americans.
Additionally, Section 702 has been plagued by abuse and misuse. The program has been used to collect and store vast amounts of data, including emails, text messages, and other electronic communications, without proper oversight or accountability that are way outside the scope of national security or counterterrorism efforts. This has led to widespread abuses of power, including by the FBI to conduct warrantless searches against hundreds of thousands of American citizens, U.S. Senators, U.S. Representatives, campaign donors, political opponents and judges. These abuses highlight the inherent dangers of granting such broad surveillance authority to the government without checks and balances in place.
Additionally, the lack of transparency and accountability surrounding the Section 702 program is deeply concerning. The secretive nature of the program makes it difficult for the public and even members of Congress to fully understand the extent of the surveillance activities and the potential impact on privacy rights. The lack of transparency also hinders the ability to hold government agencies accountable for any misuse or overreach of their surveillance powers, further eroding trust in the democratic process and the rule of law.
Another key concern is the potential for Section 702 to be used for purposes beyond its original intent. The broad language of the provision leaves the door open for the government to exploit the surveillance powers for purposes unrelated to national security, such as political targeting. For example, thanks to the Durham Report, we have a better idea of the lengths of corruption, such as an over-reliance on a former British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s deeply discredited dossier used as a justification for instigating a witch-hunt against Donald Trump. As if that were not bad enough, a court found that the FBI wrongfully used their database for searches on non-citizens and U.S. citizens – nearly 278,000 times. This runs counter to the notion of limited government and undermines the fundamental principles of democratic governance.
FISA was established to review warrant applications for spying activities while maintaining the secrecy necessary to effectively carry out covert operations on foreign entities to aid our national security. It was never intended to spy on U.S. citizens. As Congress considers the year-end reauthorization of Section 702, I remain deeply concerned with the continued abuses of this program. While everything must be done prevent future terrorist activities, it should not come at the cost of the privacy and civil rights abuses of innocent American citizens.
Instead of reauthorizing the warrantless spy program, Congress should take a stand against warrantless surveillance and prioritize the protection of privacy rights and constitutional principles.
Gosar Votes to Prevent Parks from Becoming Illegal Immigrant Housing
This week, Congress passed H.R. 5283, the Protecting our Communities from Failure to Secure our Border Act of 2023. This legislation prohibits the Biden regime from housing illegal immigrants on National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service land. It also revokes the lease to develop illegal immigrant housing at Floyd Bennett Field in New York City.
Earlier this year, I joined House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Westerman on a trip to New York City to expose the Biden regime’s efforts to turn our federal parks into encampments for illegal aliens. Our treasured national parks should not be used to house lawbreakers, they should be deported.
Americans Spent $11,400 More Thanks to Joe Biden
If you thought you are spending more money for the same standard of living than just three years ago, you’re not wrong! This week, a new analysis from members of the U.S. Senate Joint Economic Committee shows that Americans are spending an additional $11,434 annually just to maintain the same standard of living from when President Trump was in office.
Like what, you ask? Well, for starters your Thanksgiving turkey last week cost 7.2% more, as did the gravy. You’re paying 10.7% more for vegetables. Baby formula costs 8.3% more. Sugar is up nearly 9%. Bread us up more than 7%. Everything costs more. In fact, prices are up 17.1% since Biden took office. It’s no wonder why only 36% of voters said the American dream still holds true, according to a recent WSJ/NORC poll.
It’s Mail Time!
I receive thousands of letters each week and I appreciate hearing from everyone. Here are samples of some of the letters I received this week:
Cathy H. from Goodyear vents:
You are offensive. I just read…or at least scanned your latest email message and I find it extremely offensive.
Especially this part:
Warning!! The Gosar Weekly Newsletter is meant for discerning readers with above average intelligence. If you are a reporter, it probably means you are in over your head already. We link to interesting stories. We don’t vouch for every publication or every author. If we link to a story, it is because of that story. The views expressed in any of the publications do not represent any promotion, endorsement or reflection of Congressman Gosar’s views. While we try our best, we cannot guarantee every news organization spouting hatred, animosity or divisiveness will be filtered from appearing in the Gosar Weekly Newsletter. We will endeavor to prevent that from happening by never linking to Fake News organizations including CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, Rolling Stone, the Arizona Republic, the Arizona Mirror, Media Matters or the New Republic.
I hold a masters degree and I don’t appreciate your juvenile behavior and childish demeanor. You are an insurrectionist and a criminal. Even your own family has disowned you.
YOU NEED TO RESIGN!!! Or, I will do my very best to vote you out of office and put in a person who actually cares about people, other then (SIC)themselves…just like tRump!
Cathy, thank you for taking time away from tending to your cats to let me know how offended you are over a disclaimer. A disclaimer made necessary because some media folks assert that if you read one story on a website it means you endorse and support every story ever posted on that website. For years. Decades even. It’s infantile, but that’s the media today. Anyway, I’ll keep voting for policies that help you and your cats and you can keep on complaining.
Matthew F. writes all the way from Chapel Hill, North Carolina:
You need help. I just received your latest email “newsletter. It is truly the ramblings of a madman. You need a mental health intervention before you go too far. Get help.
Mathew in North Carolina— if my “ramblings” sound like a madman then perhaps it’s the world that’s gone crazy, not me. I stand for a prosperous America where families thrive, God is honored, we live within our means, we don’t engage in useless wars, we respect women and children, where our streets and cities are safe, where our borders are secure, and where our government works for the people, not the other way around. If that makes me a “madman” then I say it is your views that are crazy.
Beverly B. from Apache Junction, AZ writes:
Thank you for [your midweek newsletter] and the history of France. That’s exactly what is happening in the U.S. today. I’m so sick of being told to be tolerant and accepting of destructive policies.
Our biggest security issue right now is our government. The other countries are looking at us and seeing a huge divide, which we and they know makes us weak and vulnerable. The power countries are just waiting for the right time to strike. Are we going to be ready?
Please ask the Congress to get it together and just be honest. Ask them to seek God for answers. The answers are there. The answers will not please these groups that stand for evil. Take a stand for right. Thank you for your time and your service.
Beverly, thank you for reading that historic comparison. We are told to study history for a reason.
“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”
Ecclesiastics 1:9
William M. from Ash Fork, AZ shares:
I realize that there is not a whole lot you can do regarding conduct unbecoming of a member of the House of Representatives. I just wanted to say thank you for censuring the Representative from Michigan, Ms. Tlaib. Also, Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas! Stay the course because right now we need fighters that believe in God, family, country and the U.S. Constitution as it is written. Remain focused on these criminals sitting in our government, too many to list, but stay the fight.
William, thank you for your support. Ms. Tlaib’s rank antisemitism warrants expulsion from Congress. My colleagues however would rather remove a staunch supporter of Israel as opposed to someone who openly calls for the genocide of an entire people. Such is our society at the moment. I will continue to fight for what’s right. Merry Christmas to you, too!
Tweet of the Week:
Photo of the Week:
Adelaide Duncan from Yuma, Arizona snapped this great shot of another beautiful Arizona sunset using her smart phone. Thanks for sharing, Adelaide.
Do you have photography skills? Do you want the chance for your photograph to be featured as our “Picture of the Week?” If so, send your best shots of our great state along with a brief description to Anthony.foti@mail.house.gov. Remember to include your name and where you live. We have a beautiful state, let’s show her off!
Gosar in the News and Other Must-Read Stories:
The Daily Caller: Congress Cuts Funding For Catastrophic NIH Animal Experiments
Warning!! The Gosar Weekly Newsletter is meant for discerning readers with above average intelligence. If you are a reporter, it probably means you are in over your head already. We link to interesting stories. We get stories a couple different ways: Google alerts, a third-party aggregator and sometimes readers send stuff. We don’t vouch for every publication or every author. If we link to a story, it is because of that story. The views expressed in any of the publications do not represent any promotion, endorsement or reflection of Congressman Gosar’s views. While we try our best, we cannot guarantee every news organization spouting hatred, animosity or divisiveness will be filtered from appearing in the Gosar Weekly Newsletter. We will endeavor to prevent that from happening by never linking to Fake News organizations including CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, Rolling Stone, the Arizona Republic, the Arizona Mirror, Media Matters or the New Republic.
