Trump DOJ secretly seized journalists' phone records in 2017 to find leakers

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The two letters received at The Washington Post were signed by Channing D. Phillips, the acting U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., and John C. Demers, the head of the Justice Department’s national security division. The correspondence listed five phones for which records had been seized: Nakashima’s work, cell and home phones, and Miller’s work phone and cellphone. The letter to Entous cited his cellphone number.

The seizure of reporters’ phone records has been a controversial topic in recent years, as both the Trump and Obama administrations escalated efforts to stop leaks and prosecute government officials who disclose secrets to reporters.

In early August 2017 — days after the time period covered by the search of The Post reporters’ phone records — Sessions held a news conference to announce an intensified effort to hunt and prosecute leakers in government.

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“This culture of leaking must stop,” Sessions said, noting that the number of leak investigations had tripled since the end of the prior administration. That announcement seemed aimed at appeasing Trump, who had publicly complained about leaks that made him look bad, and branded Sessions “weak” on hunting leakers.

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