The phone records of three reporters with the Washington Post and a reporter for CNN were obtained secretly by officials with former President Donald Trump’s Justice Department over three months in 2017.
According to the Post, the three reporters, Ellen Nakashima, Greg Miller, and former Post reporter Adam Entous were notified in a letter May 3 that records were obtained from the Justice Department for their home, work or cellphone numbers.
The three reporters covered the federal investigation into ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
The reporters investigated intelligence intercepts indicating that the soon-to-be attorney general Jeff Sessions had discussed in 2016 the Trump campaign with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak.
Post’s acting executive editor, Cameron Barr, said in a statement that they "are deeply troubled by this use of government power to seek access to the communications of journalists," The Associated Press reported.
On Thursday, CNN reported that the Justice Department informed CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr, in a letter dated May 13, that her phone and email records between June 1, 2017, to July 31, 2017, were also obtained by prosecutors.
