Trump's first-term DOJ seized congressional records in leak probe: Inspector general

A Justice Department investigation into leaks during President-elect Donald Trump's first administration stretched farther than previously known, including seizing the records of dozens of congressional staffers, according to a report from the department's inspector general released Tuesday.

The far-reaching department probe came under fire in the 92-page report from DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz. Members of Congress and their staffers were largely targeted simply for reviewing information as part of their job, according to the report.

Seizing records in those circumstances "risks chilling Congress’s ability to conduct oversight of the executive branch because it exposes congressional officials to having their records reviewed by the Department solely for conducting Congress’s constitutionally authorized oversight duties," the report states.

Through such records, Justice Department personnel could gain sensitive information beyond the source of the leak, the report noted. That would include congressional employee communications with each other, with whistleblowers, and with interest groups.

Tackling leaks became a major priority for the Trump administration early into his first term. Jeff Sessions, Trump's first attorney general, announced a broad crackdown in August of 2017 on what he described as a "staggering number" of leaks.

The seized records, which were obtained from 2017 to 2020, largely didn't include the content of communications, but did look at who was contacting whom. Records were seized for two Democratic members of Congress and 43 congressional staffers, including 21 with Democratic affiliations, 20 with Republican affiliations, and two who worked in nonpartisan positions.

The department also seized records for eight reporters as it tried to uncover the source of the leaks.

The report largely avoids specifics about whose records were targeted and the content of the leaks. However, the New York Times and CNN have reported the members of Congress were California Democrats Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell, and that one of the congressional staffers was Kash Patel, Trump's pick to lead the FBI in the upcoming administration. Reporters at those two publications, as well as at the Washington Post, were the targets of the media record seizures.

The records were obtained through what's known as a "compulsory process," according to the report. That can include subpoenas, search warrants, and court orders.

The inspector general didn't find any evidence that the seizures were politically motivated or done for retaliation. But "unsurprisingly," members of Congress and staffers in both parties were concerned about those risks when news of the record grabs first broke, according to the report.

The Justice Department has now updated its policies to ensure the attorney general and deputy attorney general receive notice before prosecutors take certain investigative steps dealing with Congress. It is also now requiring prosecutors to tell judges who are reviewing efforts to obtain records without providing quick notice to targets if the records belong to members of a congressional office.

The department didn't commit to requiring prosecutors to exhaust other options before trying to seize those types of congressional records – a requirement that is already in place when it comes to seizing reporters' records. However, the department committed to evaluating whether that additional policy would be appropriate.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's first DOJ takes heat over far-reaching leak investigation