Two Democratic senators who have long overseen the U.S. intelligence community say the Trump administration is illegally withholding secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court findings from Congress while lawmakers consider whether to renew a surveillance program that allows federal agents to access Americans’ communications without a warrant.
Senators demand disclosure of surveillance ruling
Seven months ago, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court challenged a search filter that allowed intelligence analysts to retrieve messages belonging to US citizens from intercepted data without the authorization, written justification, or records required by law. The court nevertheless approved an additional year of supervision. The ruling has not been made public, and Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Adam Schiff of California say the administration missed its own September deadline for announcing it.
The program, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), expired in June after Congress failed to renew it. However, collection is continuing under the court’s approval issued in March. According to the government’s public documents, rulings of this kind are reviewed for publication “within 180 days of issuance.” That period ended on September 13, even as intelligence officials pressured lawmakers to reauthorize the program by the end of the year.
Wyden, the longest-serving member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Schiff, the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said the administration owes Congress an explanation for the delay, along with the names of the officials responsible, by November 6.
“If this administration does not comply with this simple legal command,” the senators wrote to Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton and Attorney General Todd Branch, “it is unclear why Congress and the American people would trust this administration to follow Section 702’s other legal restrictions.” The demand letter was exclusively obtained by WIRED.
Civil liberties groups oppose renewal
Demand Progress and 22 other civil liberties and government accountability groups gathered outside Congress on Monday and urged congressional leaders to reject Section 702 reauthorization.
“Meanwhile, the government is actively withholding legally required information about how its surveillance programs operate,” the groups said. The signatories include the American Civil Liberties Union and the conservative-backed Privacy and Surveillance Accountability Project.
Administration has promised to publish the ruling
The Trump administration has already faced pressure to make the ruling public and has promised to do so. In April, Senators Tom Cotton and Mark Warner—the Republican chairman and Democratic vice chairman of the Intelligence Committee—pressed the administration to publish it within 15 days so it could inform the Senate’s deliberations.
In July, the Senate Judiciary Committee asked in writing whether Attorney General Blanche would commit to declassifying the ruling by the 180-day deadline. Blanche responded, “yes.”
Warner “has made it clear that he supports transparency regarding Section 702,” communications director Rachel Cohen told WIRED. Cohen said there was “no response” from former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard or her interim acting director, Bill Pruitt, but added that “Sen. Warner expects DNI Clayton to follow the bipartisan letter and declassify the opinion as required by law.”
Source: www.wired.com
