{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.paul.senate.gov/icymi-dr-rand-paul-sends-letter-to-tsa-requesting-information-related-to-allegations-of-improper-surveillance-of-americans/", "ICYMI: Dr. Rand Paul Sends Letter to TSA Requesting Information Related to Allegations of Improper Surveillance of Americans", "2024-08-22", "2024", "2024-08", "Republican", "Senate", "KY", "Rand Paul", "P000603", "www.paul.senate.gov", "paul", "https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/", "scraper", "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:\n\nAugust 22, 2024\n\nContact: Press_Paul@paul.senate.gov, 202-224-4344\n\nICYMI: Dr. Rand Paul Sends Letter to TSA Requesting Information Related to Allegations of Improper Surveillance of Americans\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Yesterday, U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, sent a letter to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Administrator David P. Pekoske requesting information related to the management of watchlists and screening procedures by TSA. This information is being requested in light of recent disclosures from whistleblowers, which raise serious concerns that mechanisms in the TSA Quiet Skies program may have been improperly employed to target individuals based on their political views and participation in constitutionally protected activities, rather than for legitimate security threats.\n\nAs Ranking Member Paul notes in the letter,\n\n\u201cAmong the troubling allegations is the claim that former U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard was subjected to heightened surveillance after she was added to the Quiet Skies list following her public criticism of the current administration. In an equally concerning case, a Federal Air Marshal disclosed that his wife was labeled a \u201cdomestic terrorist\u201d and subjected to Special Mission Coverage (SMC) after attending a political rally in Washington, D.C. The whistleblower disclosed that TSA inaccurately recorded his wife\u2014who has a documented mobility disability\u2014as having unlawfully entered the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Despite her physical limitations making it impossible for her to engage in the alleged activities, and with no criminal charges against her, TSA has kept her on a watchlist for more than three years. To compound matters, TSA later assigned a Federal Air Marshal, who was diverted from a high-risk international mission, to monitor her on a flight, even though she was traveling with her husband, who is also a Federal Air Marshal.\u201d\n\n\u201cThese allegations echo concerns highlighted in a previous report by the Department of Homeland Security\u2019s Office of Inspector General (OIG), which identified critical deficiencies in TSA\u2019s management of the Quiet Skies program, including insufficient oversight and inadequate safeguards to protect against the misuse of passenger data. Taken together, these incidents seem to be part of a broader pattern in which TSA has repurposed Quiet Skies to surveil individuals based on their political activities, even when there is no evidence of wrongdoing.\u201d\n\nAs a result of these concerning allegations, Dr. Paul has requested TSA provide unredacted copies of all documents, guidelines, data, and internal communications related to the management of watchlists and screening procedures in the Quiet Skies program.\n\nDr. Paul\u2019s letter is supported by The Air Marshal National Council (AMNC) and Empower Oversight.\n\n\u201cThe Air Marshal National Council (AMNC) strongly supports Ranking Member Rand Paul\u2019s aggressive oversight and letter demanding answers from TSA Administrator Pekoske,\u201d said Sonya LaBosco, Executive Director of the AMNC. \u201cThe Quiet Skies surveillance program must end. Quiet Skies is ineffective, wasteful and does nothing to make us safer. We sincerely appreciate Senator Paul\u2019s tireless efforts and firmly believe that TSA must be held accountable for creating one of the largest domestic surveillance programs in American history.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe are grateful to Dr. Paul for taking seriously the protected disclosures from the Air Marshal whistleblowers we represent. Whistleblowers are key to spotting and reporting abuses in government, and the Quiet Skies surveillance of Tulsi Gabbard and others appear to be a gross waste of funds and abuse of authority. It\u2019s time for Congress and the Inspector General to get to the bottom of whether political retaliation played any role in adding Gabbard to the Quiet Skies list and ensure these abuses don\u2019t happen again.\u201d Said Tristan Leavitt, President, Empower Oversight\n\nYou can read the full letter HERE or below:\n\nDear Administrator Pekoske:\n\nAs the Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, I write to request detailed information related to the management of watchlists and screening procedures by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Recent disclosures from whistleblowers raise serious concerns that these mechanisms may have been improperly employed to target individuals based on their political views and participation in constitutionally protected activities, rather than legitimate security threats.\n\nAmong the troubling allegations is the claim that former U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard was subjected to heightened surveillance after she was added to the Quiet Skies list following her public criticism of the current administration. In an equally concerning case, a Federal Air Marshal disclosed that his wife was labeled a \u201cdomestic terrorist\u201d and subjected to Special Mission Coverage (SMC) after attending a political rally in Washington, D.C. The whistleblower disclosed that TSA inaccurately recorded his wife\u2014who has a documented mobility disability\u2014as having unlawfully entered the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Despite her physical limitations making it impossible for her to engage in the alleged activities, and with no criminal charges against her, TSA has kept her on a watchlist for more than three years. To compound matters, TSA later assigned a Federal Air Marshal, who was diverted from a high-risk international mission, to monitor her on a flight, even though she was traveling with her husband, who is also a Federal Air Marshal.\n\nThese allegations echo concerns highlighted in a previous report by the Department of Homeland Security\u2019s Office of Inspector General (OIG), which identified critical deficiencies in TSA\u2019s management of the Quiet Skies program, including insufficient oversight and inadequate safeguards to protect against the misuse of passenger data. Taken together, these incidents seem to be part of a broader pattern in which TSA has repurposed Quiet Skies to surveil individuals based on their political activities, even when there is no evidence of wrongdoing.\n\nIn light of these serious concerns, I request the following information no later than 5:00 p.m. ET on September 4, 2024:\n\nUnredacted copies of all current guidelines, criteria, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and related documents governing the selection of individuals for TSA-managed lists and programs, including the Quiet Skies program, Silent Partner List, TSA Enhanced Screening List, and TSA Deny Boarding List, as well as any revisions or updates made since January 2021.\n\nUnredacted copies of all documentation and internal communications related to the process for determining whether an individual is designated as a \u201cdomestic terrorist\u201d or subjected to SMC under the Quiet Skies program or any other TSA-managed list, including those linked to individuals who were present in Washington, D.C., on or around January 6, 2021.\n\nUnredacted copies of records concerning criteria used to determine \u201chigh-risk indicators\u201d and \u201ctravel patterns\u201d that trigger inclusion on TSA-managed lists, including the Quiet Skies program, and related TSA tools such as \u201cthreat-based intelligence scenarios\u201d and \u201cuser-defined rules\u201d within the Automated Targeting System (ATS).\n\nUnredacted copies of all documentation, internal communications, and records related to the inclusion of former U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard in the Quiet Skies program, including the criteria used to justify her surveillance, the duration and scope of the surveillance, and any related approvals, reviews, or oversight activities.\n\nUnredacted copies of all documentation and communications concerning the wife of a Federal Air Marshal, who was designated as a \u201cdomestic terrorist\u201d and placed under SMC after attending a political rally on January 6, 2021, including records of any decisions to surveil her during subsequent air travel, particularly when she was accompanied by her husband, as well as any reviews, objections, investigations, or corrective actions related to her continued surveillance status.\n\nUnredacted copies of all documentation and internal communications related to the handling, distribution, and decision-making process for the list provided by TSA\u2019s Office of Intelligence and Analysis (OIA) to the Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS) Incident Coordination Section (ICS), which covered individuals who flew into the Washington, D.C., area around January 6, 2021, including records related to decisions regarding the \u2014particularly those identified as potential protestors\u2014before the list was shared with FBI units, and the intended purpose of their screening, surveillance, or possible arrest and prosecution.\n\nComprehensive data related to the list provided by TSA\u2019s Office of Intelligence and Analysis (OIA) to the Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS) Incident Coordination Section (ICS), which included individuals who flew into the Washington, D.C., area around January 6, 2021, including:\n\nthe total number of individuals included on this list;\n\nthe number of Federal Air Marshals included on this list;\n\nthe number of current or former members of Congress included on this list;\n\nthe number of individuals from the list who were subjected to SMC or other forms of surveillance;\n\nthe number of individuals from the list who were targeted for arrest or prosecution in connection with the January 6 events; and\n\nthe number of individuals from the list who are still under surveillance.\n\nUnredacted copies of all audits, evaluations, or reviews of the Quiet Skies program, Silent Partner List, TSA Enhanced Screening List, and other TSA-managed lists or programs conducted since January 2021, including documentation of findings, actions taken in response, and how these findings were addressed.\n\nUnredacted copies of any whistleblower complaints, associated investigations, and records of any disciplinary actions taken against TSA or FAMS personnel as a result of whistleblower disclosures.\n\nUnredacted copies of all records related to TSA\u2019s handling of whistleblower allegations concerning the misuse of aviation security programs or TSA-managed lists, including internal communications, investigations conducted, outcomes determined, and measures taken to protect whistleblowers from retaliation.\n\nUnredacted copies of detailed accounts of any incidents where TSA or FAMS resources were diverted from high-risk international missions or other critical tasks to conduct surveillance on individuals wrongfully classified as \u201cdomestic terrorists\u201d or subjected to Special Mission Coverage under TSA-managed lists.\n\nComprehensive data on the number of individuals placed on each TSA-managed list, including the Quiet Skies program, Silent Partner List, TSA Enhanced Screening List, and TSA Deny Boarding List, from January 2021 to the present, broken down by month and categorized by the reason for inclusion (e.g., high-risk indicator, travel pattern, etc.).\n\nComprehensive data on the number of individuals removed from each TSA-managed list, including the Quiet Skies program, Silent Partner List, TSA Enhanced Screening List, and TSA Deny Boarding List, from January 2021 to the present, broken down by month and categorized by the reason for removal (e.g., successful appeal, expiration of criteria, etc.).\n\nUnredacted copies of any documentation or communications discussing the potential or actual impact of TSA-managed lists on civil liberties, including any assessments or recommendations made by TSA, the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL), or external oversight bodies.\n\nThank you for your prompt attention to this matter.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:41:32Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.paul.senate.gov/icymi-dr-rand-paul-sends-letter-to-tsa-requesting-information-related-to-allegations-of-improper-surveillance-of-americans/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5718438662588596, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}