The Trump Justice Department also secretly seized the phone records of 4 New York Times reporters last year
The Justice Department said Wednesday that it secretly seized the phone records of four New York Times reporters last year as part of a leak investigation, the latest revelation of surveilling journalists by the Trump administration. The Biden administration has already informed CNN and The Washington Post that the phone records and email logs of its reporters were secretly obtained last year, a practice that President Biden said is "simply, simply wrong" and will not happen under his administration.
"Members of the news media have now been notified in every instance" where their records were sought in 2019 and 2020 in leak investigations, Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said Wednesday. The attorney general has to sign off on requests to secretly obtain journalists' records under reforms implement in former President Barack Obama's second term. William Barr was attorney general for all but the last week of 2020.
"Seizing the phone records of journalists profoundly undermines press freedom," Times executive editor Dean Baquet said in a statement. "It threatens to silence the sources we depend on to provide the public with essential information about what the government is doing."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Justice Department told the Times it obtained the phone records of four reporters — Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman, Eric Lichtblau, and Michael S. Schmidt — from Jan. 14 to April 30, 2017. "The lineup of reporters and the timing suggested that the leak investigation related to classified information reported in an April 22, 2017, article the four reporters wrote about how James B. Comey, then the FBI director, handled politically charged investigations during the 2016 presidential election," the Times says.
The Justice Department started investigating Comey after former President Donald Trump fired him, first focusing on whether his leaked notes on Trump's conversations with him about Russia were illegal, then shifting to whether Comey leaked the existence of the classified 2016 memo. The investigation is still ongoing, the Times reports, though federal prosecutors had concluded by November 2020 that the FBI failed to find evidence to support charging Comey.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
What the chancellor's pension megafund plans mean for your money
Rachel Reeves wants pension schemes to merge and back UK infrastructure – but is it putting your money at risk?
By Marc Shoffman, The Week UK Published
-
Why Māori are protesting in New Zealand
A controversial bill has ignited a 'flashpoint in race relations' as opponents claim it will undermine the rights of Indigenous people
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: November 21, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91
Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The Apprentice: will biopic change how voters see Donald Trump?
Talking Point 'Brutal' film depicts presidential candidate raping first wife Ivana, but some critics believe portrayal is surprisingly sympathetic
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
All in the Family: Trump's nephew paints 'engrossing' picture of 'toxic' clan
The Week Recommends Fred III's new book reads like a 'cathartic exercise'
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76
Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproar
Speed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Kevin Hart awarded Mark Twain Prize
Speed Read He is the 25th recipient of the prestigious comedy prize
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Is Downton Abbey set to return for a final film?
Speed Read Imelda Staunton reveals that a third movie may be in the pipeline
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
Unpasteurised milk and the American right
Under the radar Former darling of health-conscious liberal foodies is now a 'conservative culture war signal': a sign of mistrust in experts
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published