Directed Inquiry
Question: Investigate National Reconnaissance Office (NRO): Search parliamentary record for "Senator Tom Coburn correspondence with Department of Defense regarding SF-LLL disclosures, approximately 2012-2014; Senator Ron Wyden floor statements on Byrd Amendment enforcement". Coburn's documented difficulty obtaining SF-LLLs from DoD is a rare congressional confirmation of the opacity problem; Wyden's Intelligence Committee position makes him the likely follow-up senator. Report any findings as factual claims with dates and evidence.
Date: 2026-04-18
Research Findings
The research confirms documented evidence of Senator Tom Coburn's difficulty obtaining SF-LLL lobbying disclosure forms from the Department of Defense during 2012-2014. Coburn wrote to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates requesting these forms under the Byrd Amendment (31 U.S.C. § 1352), and also corresponded with Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Zachary J. Lemnios on July 24, 2012. This correspondence was referenced in Coburn's November 2012 report 'Department of Everything,' which highlighted DOD spending issues. The Sunlight Foundation noted the difficulty senators faced in obtaining these forms, calling them 'elusive' and wishing Coburn 'good luck' in his request.
While Senator Ron Wyden was indeed positioned on the Senate Intelligence Committee during this timeframe and was actively involved in oversight activities, specific documented floor statements about Byrd Amendment enforcement during 2012-2014 were not found in the available records. Wyden's work during this period focused heavily on FISA oversight, NSA surveillance issues, and broader intelligence community transparency, but the specific parliamentary records regarding Byrd Amendment enforcement statements were not located in the search results.
Data Collected
- Entities created: Zachary J. Lemnios, Robert M. Gates, Carl Levin, Gene Dodaro
- Facts recorded: 4
- Connections mapped: 0
- Web sources consulted: 40
Sources
- SF-LLL : Sunlight Foundation
- Senator Tom Coburn - Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy
- Oversight and Investigations - Tom Coburn, M.D., United States Senator from Oklahoma
- Department OF EVERYTHING Senator Tom A. Coburn, M.D. November 2012
- Senator Tom Coburn • Levin Center
- Senator Tom Coburn
- Accomplishments - Tom Coburn, M.D., United States Senator from Oklahoma
- Biography - Tom Coburn, M.D., United States Senator from Oklahoma
- National Security - Tom Coburn, M.D., United States Senator from Oklahoma
- Sen. Thomas Coburn [R-OK, 2005-2014], former Senator for Oklahoma - GovTrack.us
- SF-LLL : Sunlight Foundation
- Information Collection: SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities
- Robert Gates - Wikipedia
- SF LLL: Disclosure of Lobbying Activities | FRA
- Disclosure of Lobbying Activities | GSA
- SF‑LLL: Disclosure of Lobbying Activities | US EPA
- Standard Form SF-LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities | JUSTICEGRANTS
- Lobbying Disclosure and Certification - United States Department of State
- Transcript: Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates on "Face the Nation," May 19, 2024 - CBS News
- The Robert Gates File
- U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon
- Security & Liberty | U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon
- Wyden Statement on NSA Ending Collection of Americans’ Emails About Surveillance Targets Under FISA 702 | U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon
- The Senate’s Byrd Rule: Frequently Asked Questions | Congress.gov | Library of Congress
- Letter to Honorable Ron Wyden on the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act | Federal Trade Commission
- Wyden Statement on Reported Executive Order to Undermine the First Amendment and Section 230 | U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon
- wilson-fourth-amendment-wyden.pdf
- Home | U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon
- On Senate Floor, Wyden Sounds Alarm on ICE Abuses, Renews Calls for Strong Privacy Protections | U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon
- Wyden, Merkley, Booker, Ossoff and Van Hollen Urge Justice Department to Protect Journalists First Amendment Rights at Public Events | U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon
- Department OF EVERYTHING Senator Tom A. Coburn, M.D. November 2012
- NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNTIL RELEASED BY THE COMMITTEE
- SF-LLL : Sunlight Foundation
- DoW Research & Engineering, OUSW(R&E) – The official Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering (USW(R&E)) website for the Department of War (DoW).
- Defense Primer: Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering | Congress.gov | Library of Congress
- Assuring the U.S. Department of Defense a Strong ...
- Statement Testimony of The Honorable Zachary J. Lemnios
- Officials: Cyber Research Needs Innovation, Talent
- Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E))
- Hon. Zachary J. Lemnios - ZJL Consulting, LLC | LinkedIn
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