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According to government correspondence and officials, the Department of Justice under President Donald Trump obtained the phone records of some of its reporters, the Washington Post reports. The Justice Department also sought email records.
The department’s efforts were made regarding reporting that had been done on Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
As the Post reports:
In three separate letters dated May 3 and addressed to Post reporters Ellen Nakashima and Greg Miller, and former Post reporter Adam Entous, the Justice Department wrote they were “hereby notified that pursuant to legal process the United States Department of Justice received toll records associated with the following telephone numbers for the period from April 15, 2017 to July 31, 2017.” The letters listed work, home or cellphone numbers covering that three-and-a-half-month period.
Post notes it’s very rare for the Justice Department to use subpoenas to obtain records from reporters pursuant to leak investigations, and that such measures “must be approved by the attorney general,” who, when these records were obtained, was Bill Barr.
The Post reports that Barr declined to comment for the story.
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