House Democrat Demands Commerce Briefing on Spyware Use Under Trump Administration

Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., a leading congressional voice scrutinizing the federal government’s use of commercial spyware, has formally requested that the Commerce Department brief Capitol Hill on recent developments. Her concerns stem from apprehensions that the Trump administration may further embrace spyware technology.

In a letter sent to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Thursday, Lee sought details on two key issues: Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) acknowledgment of using Paragon’s Graphite spyware, and the acquisition of a controlling stake in Israel’s NSO Group by an American company.

The Commerce Department, under former President Joe Biden, sanctioned NSO Group due to widespread allegations of abuse, including eavesdropping on government officials, activists, and journalists.

"The Trump Administration appears to be broadly receptive to using commercial spyware to infiltrate cell phones and allowing U.S. investment in sanctioned spyware companies like NSO Group," Lee wrote in her letter to Lutnick. CyberScoop was the first to report the letter.

NSO Group’s new executive chairman, David Friedman, is a former Trump ambassador to Israel and his former bankruptcy attorney. In November, Friedman stated he expects the administration to be "receptive" to NSO Group’s technology.

"Given those close ties between NSO Group and the Trump Administration, and the serious concerns about how NSO’s technology could be used to spy on Americans, we write to request information regarding the purchase of NSO Group by an American company and the potential usage of NSO Group spyware by federal law enforcement," Lee wrote.

Lee, a member of the Oversight and Government Reform panel and the top Democrat on its Federal Law Enforcement Subcommittee, co-authored a recent Democratic letter confirming ICE’s use of Paragon’s Graphite. However, they criticized the administration for failing to fully address their inquiries.

In her latest letter, Lee requested that the Commerce Department brief Oversight and Government Reform Committee staff on:

• Internal department deliberations regarding spyware use;
• Communications between Commerce and the White House;
• Any external discussions, including with Friedman, about government use of NSO Group technology or other commercial spyware, as well as U.S. investment in NSO.

Lee highlighted NSO Group’s perception of the Trump administration as favorable, noting in court filings that the company believes "it is reasonably foreseeable that a law enforcement or intelligence agency of the United States will use Pegasus."

The Biden administration’s sanctions against NSO Group and court losses, including a case against Meta, have posed significant setbacks to the company’s ambitions. Prior to the U.S. investment firm’s acquisition of a controlling stake in NSO Group last fall, the Commerce Department under Trump had resisted efforts to remove NSO Group from its sanctions list.

The recent investment, following reports that Israel used Pegasus to track individuals kidnapped or murdered by Hamas, has been a major boost for NSO Group. The company maintains that its products are designed solely to assist law enforcement and intelligence agencies in combating terrorism and crime.