Rep. Summer Lee Demands Answers from Dept. of Commerce on Trump Admin Ties to Sanctioned Spyware Firm

Text of Letter (PDF)

PITTSBURGH, PA - MAY 7, 2026 - Today, Congresswoman Summer L. Lee (PA-12), Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Federal Law Enforcement, sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick demanding answers about the Trump Administration's relationship with NSO Group, the Israeli spyware company long blacklisted by the U.S. government and recently acquired by an American firm.

NSO Group has long been subject to government sanctions after its spyware technology was used against political dissidents, human rights advocates, journalists, and American officials worldwide. The company was added to the Commerce Department's Entity List in 2021 for supplying spyware to foreign governments that used it to target activists, journalists, and government officials.

"Given these close ties between NSO Group and the Trump Administration, and the serious concerns about how NSO's technology could be used to spy on American citizens, we write to request information regarding the purchase of NSO Group by an American company and the potential usage of NSO Group spyware by federal law enforcement," wrote Rep. Lee.

Rep. Lee raised concern about the close ties between NSO Group's new leadership and the Trump Administration. NSO Group's new executive chairman, David Friedman, is President Trump's former bankruptcy lawyer and served as his Ambassador to Israel. Friedman has publicly indicated he expects the administration to be open to considering NSO Group's technologies for government use - a prospect the Biden Administration had explicitly warned would raise serious counterintelligence and national security risks.

The letter details the dangerous capabilities of NSO Group's flagship Pegasus software, which can gain full access to a target's phone without the target ever interacting with it. Security researchers have documented its use against journalists, Amnesty International staff, and imprisoned activists in countries around the world. The Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto has tracked infections across conflicts and authoritarian crackdowns on multiple continents, and a separate analysis estimated that NSO Group customers may have targeted approximately 50,000 people globally.

Despite years of U.S. government restrictions, NSO Group has continued to seek American contracts. The company experienced a severe financial decline following its Entity List designation and has spent heavily on lobbying to rehabilitate its image. In recent court filings, NSO Group argued it is foreseeable that a U.S. law enforcement or intelligence agency will use its Pegasus software - signaling its intent to secure federal business under the current administration.

"The Trump Administration appears to be broadly receptive to using commercial spyware to infiltrate cell phones and allowing U.S. investment in sanctioned spyware companies like NSO Group," Rep. Lee continued.

Rep. Lee is demanding a briefing by May 20, 2026 covering all deliberations and communications regarding NSO Group, the American acquisition, any potential government use of the technology, and any meetings, communications, or documents with outside individuals including David Friedman.

A copy of the letter can be found here.

Rep. Lee has consistently framed commercial spyware as not only a national security threat but a direct threat to civil liberties and constitutional rights - particularly for immigrants, communities of color, journalists, and advocates.

In October 2025, Rep. Lee led a letter alongside Reps. Shontel Brown and Yassamin Ansari demanding answers from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem after reports revealed that ICE had reactivated a contract with Paragon Solutions, a foreign spyware company whose product "Graphite" uses zero-click exploits to covertly access encrypted messages, photos, and real-time location data on Americans' cell phones without their knowledge or consent. The letter warned that ICE's use of such technology posed serious threats to civil liberties, privacy, and Fourth Amendment protections against warrantless search and seizure.

When DHS finally responded in April 2026, it acknowledged ICE was using the tool but refused to provide the legal analyses, target information, or oversight records requested by the Members. Rep. Lee slammed the response as a stonewalling attempt, stating that DHS was "moving forward with invasive spyware technology inside the United States" while refusing to answer serious constitutional and civil rights concerns.

Congresswoman Summer Lee serves on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on Education and Workforce. Since taking office in January 2023, she has delivered historic levels of federal investment totaling over $2.7 Billion brought back to Western PA, including over $580 million for infrastructure, over $110 million for affordable transit, over $500 million to keep clean energy manufacturing at home in Pennsylvania, and over $55 million on clean energy efforts in and around schools to help keep our kids and communities safe. These investments will help improve Western Pennsylvania's infrastructure and transit, ensure cleaner air and drinking water, lower housing costs, fund research institutions, fuel clean manufacturing, fund STEM innovation and entrepreneurship, boost workforce development, and create thousands of good paying union jobs.  Lee and her team have also delivered casework and constituent services to over 3,000 constituents with issues ranging from helping our seniors and disabled community access Medicare and social security to helping folks secure housing and helping families with immigration support and passports.