The Trump administration is facing mounting pressure to declassify a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court opinion examining how the government uses Section 702 surveillance data to search for Americans’ communications. Although officials have promised to release the ruling, it had not been made public by the time of the report, despite a legal deadline and bipartisan demands from lawmakers.
Lawmakers demand release of the opinion
In April, Sens. Tom Cotton and Mark Warner, the Republican chair and Democratic vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, pressed the administration to publish the opinion. They called for its release within 15 days so the Senate could consider it during its deliberations.
In July, lawmakers also asked Attorney General nominee Todd Blanche in writing whether he would commit to declassifying the opinion by the 180-day deadline. Blanche answered, “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.”
Cotton’s office did not respond to a request for comment. The White House, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the US Department of Justice also did not respond to WIRED’s questions on Friday about the delay.
DNI faces responsibility for declassification
As director of national intelligence, Mr. Clayton is legally responsible for declassifying the ruling, but he has not made such a commitment. Before July’s approval, he was asked whether he intended to ensure that the opinion became public before Congress voted on reauthorizing Section 702. In a written response, the government said it was “working diligently to swiftly declassify” the matter and provide lawmakers with a full opinion.
Earlier opinion detailed FBI surveillance tool
Some of the court’s findings are already known. A Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court opinion declassified last year described a similar FBI tool called the “Participant Filter.” The tool allows agents to select people who have been in contact with a monitored person and read their messages.
In February 2025, the Justice Department’s National Security Division told a court that the tool was conducting searches that were not being counted. The FBI shut it down the following month, then restarted it later that year after the department approved a restructured version.
New ruling restricts filtering tools
This year’s ruling went further. The court found that a tool used by government agencies to narrow intercepted data to messages from Americans is effectively a search for Americans, subject to the same limitations. The court ordered the tool to be rebuilt, according to an April report by The New York Times citing unclassified administration talking points sent to lawmakers.
In written questions to Blanche, Sen. Alex Padilla said the Justice Department is “appealing portions” of the ruling that “restricts the government’s use of certain filtering tools.”
Source: arstechnica.com