US hides secret court ruling on surveillance
The gist
Two Democratic senators say the administration missed its 180-day deadline to release a secret FISA court ruling.
Lawmakers weigh reauthorizing Section 702, which lets agents read Americans' messages without a warrant.
How it unfolded
- Oct 2025A Justice Department inspector general review put the FBI's search compliance rate at 98.6 percent and could not conclude the compliance issues were entirely in the past.
- Mar 2026The FISA court objected to search filters letting analysts pull Americans' messages without required approvals or records, but approved another year of surveillance.
- Apr 2026Senators Tom Cotton and Mark Warner, the Intelligence Committee's Republican chair and Democratic vice chair, pressed the administration to release the ruling within 15 days.