Hawley to FBI Deputy Director Abbate: 'Who Was Fired?' (June 13, 2023)

On June 13, 2023, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing titled “Oversight of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and Related Surveillance Authorities” [1]. Section 702 permits the government “to collect without a warrant the communications of non-Americans located outside the country to gather foreign intelligence,” and it also sweeps in Americans’ communications when they are in contact with those foreigners [8]. With Congress weighing whether to renew the law, senators questioned officials from the Justice Department, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the NSA, the CIA and the FBI, which was represented by Deputy Director Paul Abbate [1]. This video shows the end of Sen. Josh Hawley’s exchange with Abbate. All quotes below are from the official hearing record, Senate Hearing 118-575 [1].

Key Moments

”A question of life and death”

Hawley began with an FBI form, known as an FD-1023, recording an informant’s allegation that, in Hawley’s words, “the President of the United States has taken $5 million or more in bribes from a foreign nation.” Abbate said releasing it was “potentially a question of life and death … with regard to the source of the information.” He confirmed that “the document is not classified” and said it had already been provided to the House Oversight Committee under subpoena. “You can redact the source’s name. We do this all the time,” Hawley said. “In some instances, Senator, and I know you know this, that is not sufficient to protect people,” Abbate replied.

”Who’s been fired for it?”

Hawley then cited the FISA court’s finding that the FBI “ran 278,000 unwarranted, probably illegal queries on Americans.” Abbate called them “compliance incidents” and said “they’re totally unacceptable.” “Who’s been fired for it?” Hawley asked. Abbate said the 278,000 queries were unintentional, then that “the vast majority” were, then that “likely all” were. “So first it was all of them. Then it was vast majority. Now, it’s likely all,” Hawley said. “I don’t know the answer as we sit here today,” Abbate said, “but I … will find out and get back to you.” Later in the exchange, he said a colleague had confirmed that the queries “were, in fact, unintentional."

"Who was fired for the lies to the FISA Court?”

“Who was fired for the lies to the FISA Court for the Carter Page warrant. Who was fired for that? Anybody?” Hawley asked. “Has anybody been held accountable for your institution deliberately lying to a FISA Court to get a wiretap on an ongoing Presidential campaign?” “There is an ongoing disciplinary process with respect to individuals involved in that,” Abbate said.

”Why would we ever give you the blank check?”

“You’re back in front of us asking for the reauthorization of extraordinary authorities,” Hawley said. “Why would we ever give you the blank check that you want to continue surveilling American citizens in an improper manner?” “Senator, we’re here to talk about reforms,” Abbate said. “No, we’re not,” Hawley replied. “We’re here to talk about the reauthorization of Section 702.” “We’ve made significant reforms and implemented corrective measures,” Abbate said. “So you say,” said Hawley.

Background: The 278,000 Searches

The figure came from an April 2022 opinion of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, released in redacted form in May 2023, which found that the FBI improperly used the Section 702 database 278,000 times, including searches about crime victims, Jan. 6 suspects and people arrested at protests after the police killing of George Floyd [2]. The opinion also described a batch query of 19,000 donors to a congressional campaign. Senior FBI officials attributed most violations “to confusion among the workforce and a lack of common understanding about the querying standards,” and said an internal audit found compliance rising from 82 percent before reforms to 96 percent afterward [3].

The Record Behind Hawley’s Questions

“278,000 unwarranted, probably illegal queries.” The figure came from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court itself, which found that the FBI had improperly searched the Section 702 database 278,000 times [2]. The searches broke the FBI’s own querying standards, the court found [3].
The Carter Page warrant. The Justice Department’s inspector general “identified at least 17 significant errors or omissions in the Carter Page FISA applications” [4]. One FBI lawyer, Kevin Clinesmith, pleaded guilty to altering an email used to obtain surveillance on Page, a former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser, and was sentenced to a year of probation and 400 hours of community service [5].
“Who’s been fired?” Abbate did not name anyone. He told Hawley there was “an ongoing disciplinary process with respect to individuals involved” in the Page warrant [1].

What Happened Next

The informant was prosecuted: The FD-1023 form Hawley wanted released recorded an informant’s claim that executives associated with Burisma “paid Hunter and Joe Biden $5 million each.” In February 2024, prosecutors charged the informant, Alexander Smirnov, with making up the story. He pleaded guilty in December 2024 and was sentenced to six years in prison [6][7][9].
Section 702 renewed: On April 20, 2024, President Biden signed a two-year reauthorization after the Senate passed it 60–34 [8].
The 2026 fight: When that deadline arrived in April 2026, Congress could not agree on reforms and passed short-term extensions, including one for 45 days [10]. The Brennan Center for Justice, a civil liberties group, says surveillance under existing court approvals can continue until March 2027 even if the statute lapses [11].