Probing the Press in the Hunt for Leakers

This is the second in a series of five columns on the recent revelations that the Justice Department, beginning in the Trump administration and continuing into the Biden administration, conducted investigations of leaks of sensitive information by government officials to members of the media. Those investigations reportedly involve subpoenas for communications records of several journalists, as well as other controversial information demands by investigators. Follow this link for the first column in the series.

The Trump Justice Department subpoenaed communications records for reporters at the New York Times, the Washington Post, and CNN. As a general matter of principle, this riles journalists. Additionally, there are two specific complaints.