Lawmakers Demand Investigation into DHS Secret Surveillance of Journalists and Non-Profits

By douglasharrington // 2026-09-02

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Two members of Congress formally asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Tuesday, Sept. 1, to investigate the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) use of administrative summonses to secretly collect records on journalists, labor unions and non-profit organizations. The request, penned by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), was reported by The Guardian. It asks the non-partisan watchdog to audit how the agency has leveraged these legal tools without traditional judicial oversight. The lawmakers' appeal follows mounting scrutiny over the DHS' recent actions, which involved using summonses intended for customs-related matters to make unilateral demands for personal data. According to the request, the records collected include telephone logs and financial transaction histories. The lawmakers have stated that these powers were applied outside of their intended purpose, raising constitutional questions about the balance between law enforcement authority and individual privacy rights ^[1].

Recent Surveillance Revelations

The congressional request comes in direct response to a series of investigative reports detailing specific instances of surveillance. According to The Guardian, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) used an administrative summons to obtain six months of telephone records for Minneapolis-based journalist Georgia Fort. In a separate episode, the agency issued a summons to Google requesting data on the YouTube accounts of Fort and CNN anchor Don Lemon, but only after a judge had twice rejected a similar search warrant application. Further reporting has revealed that the DHS has used these tools to collect financial data on labor unions and Venmo transactions belonging to non-profit entities. The agency has also reportedly issued administrative subpoenas to major technology platforms – including Meta, X and Reddit – in attempts to identify the identities of anonymous critics. These instances have fueled concerns that the agency is utilizing a low-visibility legal mechanism to circumvent the standard privacy protections typically afforded to American citizens ^[2].

Details of the GAO Request

The formal letter from Wyden and Jayapal specifically requests that the GAO audit the HSI's use of non-disclosure language that appears in its subpoenas. The language in question asks recipients to refrain from notifying the individual whose records are being sought, ostensibly because it would impede an ongoing federal investigation. Privacy experts and legal scholars have noted that this type of request is not legally binding on the recipient. "Crucially, the recipients of these subpoenas – often third-party companies and service providers – maintain a First Amendment right to notify their customers of the demand, allowing the actual targets of the subpoenas the opportunity to assert their own legal rights or challenge the demand in court," Wyden and Jayapal wrote in their request. The senators are seeking a complete audit of how often this language is used and under what circumstances it is applied ^[3].

Concerns About Broader Subpoena Abuses

The lawmakers' concerns extend beyond the DHS, as their request also points to similar non-disclosure language being used by the Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration. They argue that in heavily regulated sectors, companies often comply with these requests out of fear of regulatory retaliation, even when they are not legally obligated to do so. "Companies like AT&T and CVS have explicitly cited these extra-legal government demands to Congress to justify their failure to notify customers when their private records are turned over to the government," the letter states. Wyden and Jayapal have also asked the GAO to determine what, if any, policy changes the DHS implemented following a 2017 inspector general report that found the agency had been using these administrative summonses improperly ^[4].

Proposed Steps for Transparency

In addition to requesting a formal government audit, the lawmakers have called on the Judicial Conference, the body that oversees federal court policies, to amend the standard templates for grand jury and trial subpoenas. The proposed amendment would clarify that recipients are permitted to disclose the existence of the subpoena unless a specific court order prohibits them from doing so. This change is intended to prevent agencies from using boilerplate language to coerce silence without judicial backing. Wyden and Jayapal stated that these steps are necessary to ensure that government agencies respect privacy and free speech rights. "These steps will help ensure that agencies do not abuse their subpoena authorities at the expense of privacy and free speech rights," the lawmakers concluded in their letter. A GAO spokesperson confirmed that the office has received the request and is currently reviewing it ^[5].

References

NaturalNews.com. "DHS spied on Americans collected their financial information in bulk_ US senator". NaturalNews.com. March 26, 2022.
Hendricks Evan. "Your right to privacy a basic guide to legal rights in an information society".
David K Shipler. "Rights at Risk The Limits of Liberty in Modern America".
yournews.com. "Biden DOJ Secretly Subpoenaed Jim Jordan’s Phone Records for Over Two Years, Documents Show". November 21, 2025.
Hindley Geoffrey. "A brief history of the Magna Carta the story of the origins of liberty".

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