Wyden Secures Commitment to Release Classified Surveillance Opinion Before FISA 702 Debate

Wyden Secures Commitment to Release Classified Surveillance Opinion Before FISA 702 Debate

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., secured a commitment today from the bipartisan leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee to declassify a crucial opinion by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court regarding violations of Americans' constitutional rights.

"Today the Senate proved that security and liberty aren't mutually exclusive. I secured a commitment from the bipartisan leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee to ensure the declassification of a FISA court opinion revealing abuses of Americans' rights," Wyden said. "The more Americans know about these abuses, the more they demand real reforms. I'll be using the next 45 days to put on a full-court press for real safeguards for Americans' rights."

The text of the letter from Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., to the Director of National Intelligence and Acting Attorney General is below:

"Earlier this month, the Department of Justice delivered to Congress a classified Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) opinion and order dated March 17, 2026.

Under the law, your offices are currently conducting a declassification review for the purposes of making this FISC opinion and order publicly available, consistent with the protection of sources and methods, as soon as practicable. In order to inform the Senate debate on reauthorization of section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, we expect that this declassification review will be completed, and the FISC opinion released publicly, within 15 days."

Video of Wyden reading the text of the letter into the Congressional Record is here.

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act allows government surveillance of intelligence targets overseas, but also scoops up vast quantities of Americans' communications in the process. The NSA, FBI and other federal agencies can then end-run the Fourth Amendment and read those communications without a warrant or any court order whatsoever.

Wyden and a bipartisan coalition of members in the House and Senate have called for reforms to Section 702 to ensure the law is only renewed with strong protections for Americans' constitutional rights.