From 1979 to 2012, the FISA court granted 33,942 warrants, with only 12 denials – a rejection rate of 0.03 percent of the total requests.

I found that astonishing factoid on Das Wiki. I bring this up after reading two recent news items. One was an interview the disgraced former director of the FBI, James Comey, had with 'FOX News Sunday' host Chris Wallace. At one point in his persistent dissembling, Comey said, "It's incredibly hard to get a FISA (warrant)." Now, why would he say that? It's obviously not true. Tens of thousands of warrants issued with a statistically zero rejection rate is the proof. Comey is either lying (again), or he is grossly ignorant about the FBI's own process to solicit the FISC for surveillance warrants. And this man was the top cop in the FBI!

The second was an article published today by Michael van der Galien at PJ MEDIA: Mark Levin Blasts FISA Judge Rosemary Collyer: 'You Chose to Sit on Your Hands!'

That 'Mark Levin Blasts' is in response to this item: 'FISA Court Issues Rare Public Order Condemning FBI for Russia Probe Abuses and Demanding Reforms', which was highlighted in today's A Few Headlines - best of the interwebs.

"So I'm not impressed with what she's done here," Levin concluded, "I'm disturbed that it took her so long."

Per usual, Levin makes a compelling case:

"And so Judge Collyer did not protect the federal judiciary, she did not protect her own courtroom, she did not protect the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act," Levin said. "For more than 2.5 years, she allowed these perpetrators to get away with what they did. And she could have brought an end to this. She could have had an evidentiary hearing or a contempt hearing if you will, and she chose not to.

Now she's jumping on the bandwagon," Levin continued, "after the OIC report, after FBI Director Wray has announced 40 different reforms that he's going to take a look at. After I and others, including Mike Lee, have said, 'you know, we have to abolish the court.' [The court has] failed to do its job and I suspect they won't do its job.

Only now does Judge Collyer issue her decision. Only now. Because part of the problem is Judge Collyer and any other judge" working as a FISA judge, he said. "They don't read these documents. Over a 1,000 of them were presented to the FISA courts in 2018 and only one was denied. That is almost a 100 percent approval record. Now that's absurd," Levin explained."

These were systemic abuses by a select few with terrible power in their control. It's corruption on a grand scale which was seemingly wielded with near impunity by the Senior Executive Service within the FBI to obtain the results it desired! Justice be damned.

And now, FBI Director Wray has announced 40 different reforms. We don't trust you. BTW, where was this vaunted Congressional oversight during all this?

H/t: Chris Stigall