Politics

Palantir, Accused Of Aiding Mass Surveillance, Hires Democrat Who Fought Patriot Act

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A tech giant in Democrats’ crosshairs has recruited one of the party’s former longtime senators.

Palantir hired former Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana as an adviser ahead of Democrats taking control of Congress in January, NPR reported Monday. As the Senate Finance Committee threatens the companies to explain the use of its surveillance tools, taxpayers fund $2.3 billion worth of Palantir contracts.

“My agreement with Palantir is advisory in nature, it is not lobbying,” Tester told NPR.

“[T]he fact is, I think Palantir has got a good story to tell, and they need to tell it. And hopefully folks will be receptive to it,” he added.

Tester spent his 18 years in the Senate opposing the USA Patriot Act as the U.S. government’s surveillance powers increased, according to NPR.

Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon called on Palantir in an April 14 letter to respond to claims that it was working with the Department of Homeland Security on surveillance technology, NPR reported.

“Senator Wyden has a number of questions about Palantir’s work to facilitate the Trump-Vance abuse of government data that he intends to ask again as chairman of the Finance Committee,” Wyden’s staff said in a statement to NPR at the time. “If Palantir is not responsive next year, compulsory processes will be on the table.”

More than a dozen former employees at the tech firm criticized its $30 million Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) contract in a May 2025 letter, when the organizations designed a surveillance tool to monitor migrant activity, according to NPR.

Palantir rejects claims that it surveils the public and stated that it “neither conducting nor enabling mass surveillance of American citizens,” the outlet reported.

The company also said it believes in “protecting privacy and upholding liberal democratic values,” according to a Palantir blog post.

Palantir and Wyden’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

After serving three terms in office, Tester lost his 2024 reelection bid to Republican Montana Sen. Tim Sheehy.