The Trump administration secretly sought and obtained the 2017 phone and email records of a CNN correspondent, the latest instance where federal prosecutors have taken aggressive steps targeting journalists in leak investigations. The Justice Department informed CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr, in a May 13 letter, that prosecutors had obtained her phone and email records covering two months, between June 1, 2017 to July 31, 2017. The letter listed phone numbers for Starr’s Pentagon extension, the CNN Pentagon booth phone number and her home and cell phones, as well as Starr’s work and personal email accounts. It is unclear when the investigation was opened, whether it happened under Attorney General Jeff Sessions or Attorney General William Barr, and what the Trump administration was looking for in Starr’s records. The Justice Department confirmed the records were sought through the courts last year but provided no further explanation or context. A Justice Department official confirmed that Starr was never the target of any investigation. The seizure of Starr’s records is the third disclosure in as many weeks where the Trump administration used its Justice Department to secretly obtain communications of journalists or to expose the identity of critics of former President Donald Trump’s allies. “CNN strongly condemns the secret collection of any aspect of a journalist’s correspondence, which is clearly protected by the First Amendment,” said CNN President Jeff Zucker. “We are asking for an immediate meeting with the Justice Department for an explanation.” (…) Free speech and government transparency advocates warn that the seizure of journalists’ records has a chilling impact on newsgathering and discourages whistleblowers from coming forward with government wrongdoing.
via cnn: Trump administration secretly obtained CNN reporter’s phone and email records
By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley, U.S. Navy – <a href=”//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Extracted_image_icon.png” class=”image”></a>
This file has been extracted from another file: <a href=”//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:U.S._Navy_Adm._Mike_Mullen,_chairman_of_the_Joint_Chiefs_of_Staff,_speaks_with_CNN_reporter_Barbara_Starr_Aug._26,_2010,_in_Detroit_during_a_three-day_tour_of_the_Midwest_100826-N-TT977-250.jpg” title=”File:U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks with CNN reporter Barbara Starr Aug. 26, 2010, in Detroit during a three-day tour of the Midwest 100826-N-TT977-250.jpg”>U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks with CNN reporter Barbara Starr Aug. 26, 2010, in Detroit during a three-day tour of the Midwest 100826-N-TT977-250.jpg</a>
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