DOJ Secret Court Order Targets Washington Post Journalists Days Before Barr's Resignation

confirmed Importance 9/10 ~1 min read 3 sources 8 actors

Media Capture & Control Judicial Capture Regulatory Capture Intelligence Penetration

On December 22, 2020, the DOJ filed a secret court order to seize phone records of three Washington Post journalists (Ellen Nakashima, Greg Miller, and Adam Entous) investigating Russian diplomatic communications. Filed just one day before Attorney General William Barr’s resignation by DOJ official Michael R. Sherwin, the order sought 4 months of phone records and sought to prevent notification to the journalists. This action was part of a broader pattern of surveillance targeting 8 reporters from major news outlets, raising significant press freedom concerns and violating internal DOJ guidelines.

Sources & Citations

[1] Trump DOJ tried to seize Washington Post journalists records over Russia leaks Tier 2

[2] This Is How Trump's Department of Justice Spied on Journalists Tier 1

[3] Unsealed Court Docs Shed Light on Why DoJ Targeted WashPo Reporters Tier 2

Tiers Tier 1 court records & gov docs · Tier 2 established outlets · Tier 3 regional & specialty press · Tier 4 opinion or single-source. Methodology →

Cite this entry

The Cascade Ledger. “DOJ Secret Court Order Targets Washington Post Journalists Days Before Barr's Resignation.” The Capture Cascade Timeline, December 23, 2020. https://capturecascade.org/event/2020-12-23--secret-court-order-journalist-surveillance-barr/