Trump Justice Dept. Secretly obtained reporter phone records

[redheadbaker]

www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/trump-justice-dept-seized-post-reporters-phone-records/2021/05/07/933cdfc6-af5b-11eb-b476-c3b287e52a01_story.html

The Trump Justice Department secretly obtained Washington Post journalists’ phone records and tried to obtain their email records over reporting they did in the early months of the Trump administration on Russia’s role in the 2016 election, according to government letters and officials.

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.

[ellipses84]

Can you imagine how it felt to be one of those journalists and find that out?! 😳

[NewOrleans]

I wonder where they meant to take this. Jail? Violence? Career-ruining?

If that’s not a chilling effect on 1A, I don’t know what is.

It makes me sad not just for the targeted journalists but because this could be such an opportunity for unity— the Right is so against government overreach. Except when it’s the Right doing it. And that is sad.