Dead Drop: June 14 - 20

LAPSED JUDGMENT: Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act expired at midnight Friday after the House rejected a last-ditch extension on Thursday by a vote of 198-218, and headed home for a weeklong recess. The law authorizing the warrantless collection of foreigners' electronic communications - and, incidentally, some Americans' communications as well - is officially expired. The surveillance isn't, however. Thanks to annual certifications approved by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in March, collection can continue under existing orders until March 2027. What Congress also failed to do before leaving town: release a classified March 17 FISA Court opinion that Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Thomas Massie say details serious FBI misuse of the program. Senate Intelligence Committee leaders formally requested declassification in April and asked for a response within 15 days. That deadline came and went. The question now is whether Americans are less safe because of it.

SHELL GAME: We are taking this report with a grain of salt, but China's Ministry of State Security is warning their nation's fishermen, researchers, and vessel owners: watch out for fish. In a post on the ministry's official WeChat account, Beijing alleged that foreign intelligence agencies are waging an "invisible secret war" beneath China's coastal waters, deploying sea turtles and fish fitted with electronic sensors to collect data on water temperature, salinity, and ocean currents - then transmitting the haul to overseas satellites. "Relatively large living marine animals have been fitted with sensors to swim in specific areas," the ministry said, without identifying a specific location, or providing any supporting evidence. The creatures, Beijing warned, could be used to map underwater weak points in China's coastal defenses. China has named no suspect country and perhaps not surprisingly, the sea turtles have remained silent.