Senators say US withholding secret FISA court ruling until Section 702 renewal
Two senators say the Trump administration is withholding a secret FISA court ruling until Congress renews Section 702.
Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Adam Schiff of California said the court objected seven months ago to search filters that permit intelligence analysts to pull Americans’ messages from intercepted data without the approvals, written justifications or records the law requires. The court nonetheless approved another year of surveillance, according to the report.
The ruling has never been made public. Wyden and Schiff say the administration’s own deadline for releasing it passed in September. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act lapsed in June after Congress failed to renew it, though collection continues under the court’s March approval, Ars Technica reported.
The administration’s public documentation says rulings like the one at issue are reviewed for public release “within 180 days of issuance.” That window closed September 13, even as intelligence officials press lawmakers to reauthorize the program by the end of the year, the report said.