The leak was investigated at the beginning of Trump’s presidency. The Department of Justice, which also has the role of attorney general in the United States, also attempted to obtain the email history of Washington Post reporters.
Reporters Elaine Nakashima and Greg Miller and former Washington Post journalist Adam Entous received a letter from the Department of Justice on Monday informing them that the Department had their call records from April 15, 2017 to July 31, 2017. This relates to the call log of home phones, landlines at work, and cell phones.
Cameron Barr, Acting Editor-in-Chief, said: Washington Post. “The Department of Justice should immediately explain its reasons for this violation of the activities of reporters who practice their profession under the protection of constitutional freedom of expression.”
News media and constitutional freedom of expression advocates in the United States have long criticized attempts by US governments to access journalists’ communications data in order to discover leaks. According to critics, this would unfairly restrict press freedom.
