US officials want Section 702 renewed before damaging court ruling goes public
Senators say officials hid a ruling on warrantless searches past its release deadline.
Two Democratic senators, Ron Wyden and Adam Schiff, allege that the Trump administration is deliberately concealing court findings from Congress while extending a surveillance program known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). This program permits federal agents to access Americans' communications without warrants or justifications.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court objected to the program's search filters earlier, but still approved its continuation for another year. The court's ruling has not been made public, as the administration's deadline for releasing it passed in September. The administration claims rulings are reviewed for public disclosure "within 180 days of issuance," but that deadline expired on September 13. Despite this, officials are urging lawmakers to reauthorize Section 702 by the end of the year.
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