Trump administration spied on New York Times reporters

The US Department of Justice obtained telephone data from journalists. The editor-in-chief of the New York Times believes that press freedom is being undermined.

Washington – afternoon trump It’s been a few months now. Now more and more details about his government are emerging. In May, it became known that Washington Post journalists are under surveillance by the Trump administration. New York Times employees were also affected, the newspaper reported.

According to the article, the US government was said to have secretly obtained telephone data of four journalists. In the era of Trump’s successors Joe Biden, the Department of Justice notified the New York Times on Wednesday (June 2, 2021) so. The relevant documents were reportedly received by the ministry for the period from mid-January to the end of April 2017. No articles were disclosed to journalists that were crucial to the investigation.

USA: Trump administration collected data from journalists

Around this time, journalists released a report on then-FBI Director James Comey. The article was about the handling of politically sensitive investigations by the Federal Police in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, including that of Trump’s rival candidate Hillary Clinton. The confidential information is said to have been processed, which may lead to investigations by judicial authorities in order to find out the sources.

James Comey was fired as FBI chief by Trump in May 2017. The former president repeatedly attacked him for the agency’s investigation into possible collusion with the Trump campaign team and with Russia ahead of the 2016 election.

US Department of Justice: Journalists were not the target of the investigation

The Justice Department commented on the allegations of surveillance. The data obtained was part of a criminal investigation. The ministry said it was related to the unauthorized disclosure of classified information. The four journalists were neither the subject nor the target of the investigation. According to the New York Times, the administration also obtained a court order to access the emails, but “has not received any data.”

Dean Paquet, editor-in-chief of the New York Times, condemned the government’s actions. “Confiscation of journalists’ phone data severely undermines press freedom.” This may silence sources that rely on “providing the public with important information about what the government is doing.” (Spr/dpa)