Republicans grill Bondi on Section 702 surveillance powers

Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and John Cornyn, R-Texas, on Wednesday pressed former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi on her views about warrantless surveillance through the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

The surveillance tool has come under scrutiny from privacy advocates over the potential to secure information on Americans without a warrant.

During her confirmation hearing to serve as attorney general, Bondi fielded questions from Cornyn about what he called the "the most important law that most people have never heard of."

Cornyn asked her commit to enforcing the law, which allows for the warrantless surveillance of foreigners, but further pressed her on the prospect of a warrant requirement. The Texas senator pressed Bondi on former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe's views that a warrant requirement would get in the way of national security.

Bondi declined to get into specifics but committed to reading the law and meet with Cornyn about his concerns. She then fielded questions from Lee about the intelligence community's access of the Section 702 database to obtain information about Americans without a warrant.

The former Florida attorney general was hesitant to comment about national security exemptions to warrant requirements, though Lee went on to express hope that Congress would impose one.