Searching for Accountability Under FISA: Internal Separation of Powers and Surveillance Law

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) has never been more controversial. Enacted to bolster surveillance's institutional framework after the excesses of J. Edgar Hoover's FBI, FISA's deficits have been front and center due to the Justice Department Inspector General's report on the flawed Carter Page FISA request and disclosures of excessive FBI querying of U.S. person information under § 702 of the FISA Amendments Act. This Article suggests that current problems have their roots in the failure of both the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to learn the lessons of FISA's origins and history.