Two U.S. senators say the Trump administration missed a statutory deadline to declassify a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court opinion on how intelligence agencies search Americans' communications under Section 702, according to Wired¹.

Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Adam Schiff of California told Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton and Attorney General Todd Blanche, in a letter Wired said it obtained, that the ruling should have been reviewed for public release within 180 days of issuance¹. Wired said the government's own documentation put that window at Sept. 13¹.

Wired reported that about seven months ago the court objected to search filters that let analysts pull Americans' messages from intercepted data without the approvals, written justifications, or records the law requires, then approved another year of surveillance anyway¹. The opinion has not been made public¹.

Section 702 lapsed in June after Congress did not renew it, Wired said, though collection continues under the court's March approval¹. Intelligence officials are pressing lawmakers to reauthorize the program by the end of the year¹.

Wyden and Schiff asked for an explanation of the delay and the names of officials responsible by Nov. 6¹. In the letter, they wrote that if the administration will not follow that directive, "it is unclear why Congress or the American people should trust this administration to follow any of the other legal limits to Section 702"¹.

Demand Progress and 22 other civil liberties and government-accountability groups on Monday urged congressional leaders not to reauthorize Section 702 while that information is withheld, Wired reported¹. Signatories included the American Civil Liberties Union and the Project for Privacy and Surveillance Accountability¹.

Wired said Sens. Tom Cotton and Mark Warner pressed in April for release within 15 days¹. Blanche, asked in July whether he would commit to declassifying the opinion by the 180-day deadline, replied "Yes," according to the report¹. Clayton, before his July confirmation, wrote that the government was working to declassify it and had made the full opinion available to lawmakers¹.

A Warner spokeswoman told Wired that neither former DNI Tulsi Gabbard nor acting successor Bill Pulte had been responsive, and that Warner expects Clayton to declassify the opinion as required by law¹. Cotton's office did not comment¹. The White House, ODNI, and Justice Department did not answer questions Wired sent Friday¹.

Wired said some of the court's findings are already public in outline: a prior FISA opinion described an FBI "participants filter," later shut off and rebuilt, and unclassified talking points described this year's ruling as treating tools that narrow data to an American's messages as searches subject to the same limits¹. Sen. Alex Padilla said in a written question that the Justice Department is appealing portions limiting use of certain filtering tools¹.

The court's current approval expires in March¹. Wired said advocates expect a renewal fight could be attached to the annual defense authorization bill, as in 2023, and that this year's House and Senate versions do not yet include it¹.

Sources

1. WiredThe US Government Is Hiding a Secret Court Ruling About How It Spies on Americans10:09 AM

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