The US Government Is Hiding Secret Court Ruling About How It Spies on Americans

Two Democratic senators, Ron Wyden and Adam Schiff, accuse the Trump administration of unlawfully withholding a secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court ruling while seeking renewal of Section 702, a surveillance authority that allows agencies to collect foreign communications and search intercepted data for Americans’ messages without warrants. The court’s March decision reportedly found that filtering tools used to identify Americans’ communications count as searches and must follow legal requirements for approvals, written justifications, and recordkeeping. Although the court approved another year of surveillance, the ruling remains classified. The administration’s stated 180-day review period for public release ended in September, and the senators want officials to explain the delay by November 6. Civil liberties groups say Congress should refuse renewal until the ruling is disclosed.

The dispute comes amid earlier problems with FBI search tools, including a “participants filter” that enabled searches the government did not track. The FBI shut it down, then later reinstated a redesigned version. The Justice Department is reportedly appealing parts of the latest ruling. Meanwhile, intelligence agencies cite a 98.9 percent compliance rate for FBI searches, though an inspector general previously reported a lower rate and could not say compliance problems were over; historical search totals also excluded untracked filter searches. Some lawmakers who have read the ruling say it could alter views of surveillance powers and Americans’ rights. Section 702 has lapsed, but collection continues under court approval, which expires in March; advocates fear Congress may attach renewal to its annual defense bill.