Sen. Wyden Asks Justice Department to Stop Spying on Journalists: ‘Leave Behind’ the ‘Thuggish and Orwellian’ Abuses of Power

Zach Gibson/Getty Images

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) asked Attorney General Merrick Garland in a Tuesday letter to end the federal government’s tradition of spying on journalists in order to identify their sources.

“Simply put, the government should not collect journalists’ communications records unless it’s investigating them for a crime or as part of an investigation into foreign espionage, in which case it should get a warrant,” Wyden wrote in the missive, which was co-authored by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD).

The duo said they were referencing last month’s revelation that the Justice Department under former Attorney General William Barr sought phone records for three Washington Post reporters, including Ellen Nakashima, Greg Miller, and Adam Entous. The department sent a letter to the reporters in May informing them of the action, and said the records included their activity from April 15, 2017 to July 31, 2017.

Federal law permits authorities to surveil reporters when their sources present alleged national security concerns, and the feds have taken advantage of that power on numerous occasions under presidents from both parties. Recent incidents notably included the FBI’s 2017 investigation into BuzzFeed and New York Times reporter Ali Watkins, who wrote about confidential information she received from the head of security for the Senate Intelligence Committee, with whom she engaged in a romantic relationship. Former Attorney General Eric Holder spearheaded a 2013 search of former Fox News reporter James Rosen’s communications for information related to his contact with a State Department contractor, and former CBS reporter Sharyl Attkisson has been vocal in expressing her suspicion that she was surveilled in a similar manner during the same period.

Wyden and Raskin made no mention of incidents preceding former President Donald Trump’s term in the White House. However, they said they hoped the latest incident would serve as inspiration for Garland to change the department’s practices going forward.

“In years, past, the government would often attempt to force journalists to reveal their sources, by dragging them into court, where many chose to spend time in jail for contempt of court, rather than violate their oath to keep their sources’ identities hidden,” the pair wrote. “Now that most Americans carry always-on, always-recording smartphones the government prefers to go to telecommunications companies, hoping that records of calls and texts might reveal the source. While certainly more convenient for the government, using subpoenas and surveillance orders to pry into a journalist’s communications history is no less invasive and destructive than forcing a journalist to reveal their source.”

They also said they planned to introduce a proposal that would cement new standards into law, though its prospective passage by Democrats in Congress — led in both chambers by members who have held leadership positions guiding their parties for roughly two decades — represents a potentially uphill battle.

“We are working to introduce a federal journalist shield law in the coming months,” Wyden and Raskin noted. “However, the Biden administration has the opportunity to voluntarily leave behind the thuggish and Orwellian abuses of power of the last administration, and stand up as a world leader for press freedoms. To that end, we urge you to revise DOJ’s guidelines for investigations of journalists.”