Washington: President Joe Biden said he will not let his Justice Department seize journalists’ telephone records as part of investigations into leaks of classified information to the media.
“It’s simply, simply wrong. I will not let that happen,” Biden said after press conference on Friday when asked if he would prevent his Justice Department from seizing reporters’ phone records.
Earlier in May, the Washington Post said President Donald Trump’s Justice Department obtained phone records from The Washington Post’s journalists related to their reporting on Russia’s alleged role in the 2016 election.
Federal investigators were trying to uncover proof of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign in the 2016 election, but ultimately uncovered no evidence of such a conspiracy.
The subpoenas to obtain the phone records were obtained last year as part of a criminal investigation into unauthorized disclosure of classified information by officials with access to national defense information.
Trump’s Justice Department obtained three-and-a-half months worth of phone records from Washington Post reporters Ellen Nakashima, Greg Miller and former reporter Adam Entous. The Justice Department was investigating their reporting in 2017 related to the investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.
