Members call out secret “hotwatch” real-time tracking, abuse of All Writs Act, and dragnet financial searches targeting innocent Americans
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., with Reps. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) launch a new investigation into federal law enforcement’s widespread surveillance of Americans’ personal bank accounts and financial records.
In a letter to Acting Comptroller General Orice W. Brown, the bipartisan members of Congress highlighted severe gaps in judicial oversight, transparency, and statutory notice requirements. The lawmakers warned that without meaningful safeguards, federal agencies—including the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)—are improperly exploiting legal gaps to spy on law-abiding citizens.
“Americans’ financial records can reveal deeply sensitive information including their religion; the political causes and non-profit organizations they support, including through membership; the doctors’ offices and clinics where they are treated; where they travel and with whom; and countless other private personal details,” the members wrote.“Despite the sensitivity of this data, Americans’ financial records receive few protections against government surveillance and existing legal authorities have at times been abused or stretched beyond their intended purpose.”
The lawmakers asked the GAO to evaluate four primary surveillance practices currently deployed by federal agencies:
- Failure to Notify Americans of Seized Records: Despite the Right to Financial Privacy Act requiring the government to notify individuals when their bank records are turned over to the government, the DOJ disclosed in November 2024 that it does not track compliance with these notice rules. The lawmakers are asking GAO to quantify how many Americans are left unaware that their records were turned over.
- Abuse of FBI National Security Letters (NSLs): The FBI routinely uses NSLs to obtain historical financial data without prior judicial approval. The bipartisan members asked GAO to audit whether the FBI is complying with 2016 reform guidelines that require individualized justifications and strict expiration rules for non-disclosure directives.
- Warrantless Real-Time “Hotwatch” Tracking: Agencies are forcing financial institutions to report new customer transactions in real time using the All Writs Act—a broad and ambiguous 1789 law —rather than seeking explicit statutory authority from Congress. Lawmakers requested an audit into the scale, frequency, and legal justifications behind these court-ordered “hotwatches.”
- FinCEN & FBI Dragnet Financial Searches: Agencies have allegedly directed banks to run broad, informal searches across customer databases via Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) and Bank Secrecy Act mechanisms. These directives sweep up innocent Americans, circumvent PATRIOT Act safeguards, and permanently gag banks from telling customers their records were turned over.
The lawmakers requested that the GAO compile its findings into a formal report, complete with recommendations for legislative and executive reforms to restore judicial oversight and protect constitutional rights.
A copy of the full letter sent to the GAO is available here.
A web version of this release is here.
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