1. United States
2. Maine
3. Letter

Section 702 Must Not Be Renewed Without Meaningful Safeguards I urge you to oppose any renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act unless it includes substantial, enforceable safeguards to protect Americans from misuse of surveillance powers. Section 702 was created to collect foreign intelligence on non-U.S. persons overseas. However, communications involving Americans can be incidentally collected, and government agencies may later search that data. The authority has repeatedly generated bipartisan concerns regarding searches involving U.S. persons and compliance violations. Recent events have heightened those concerns. President Trump has appointed Bill Pulte, whose background is in housing finance rather than intelligence, as Acting Director of National Intelligence without Senate confirmation. Pulte’s record at FHFA — where he used his regulatory authority to send criminal referrals to the DOJ alleging mortgage fraud against individuals publicly identified as political opponents of President Trump — is the specific conduct that has prompted critics to warn that placing him in charge of the nation’s intelligence apparatus, with access to Section 702 surveillance data, creates heightened risk of politically motivated misuse.  Critics, including Senator Ron Wyden, have warned that powerful surveillance authorities could be vulnerable to political misuse if adequate safeguards are not in place. Whether or not one agrees with those concerns, Congress has a responsibility to ensure that no administration—Republican or Democratic—can use intelligence authorities against political opponents, journalists, advocacy organizations, or elected officials. If Section 702 is renewed, I respectfully request that Congress include at minimum: • A warrant requirement before agencies search Section 702 databases for information about U.S. persons. • Strong criminal penalties for intentional misuse of Section 702 authorities. • Special protections requiring independent approval before searches involving journalists, members of Congress, candidates for public office, judges, or nonprofit advocacy organizations. • Independent audits and regular public reporting on U.S.-person queries, compliance violations, and corrective actions, with as much transparency as national security permits. These reforms would not eliminate Section 702. They would help ensure that the authority remains focused on legitimate foreign-intelligence purposes while protecting constitutional liberties and public confidence in the intelligence system. Please oppose any clean reauthorization and support only a version that contains meaningful, enforceable safeguards.