A Thursday report from CNN claims that Donald Trump‘s administration obtained the phone and email records of one of its reporters.
According to the publication, Trump’s Department of Justice informed CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr in May that it obtained both her email and phone records from June 1, 2017, to July 31, 2017.
“The letter listed phone numbers for Starr’s Pentagon extension, the CNN Pentagon booth phone number and her home and cell phones, as well as Starr’s work and personal email accounts,” CNN claimed.
The Origin Of The Investigation Is Unclear
According to CNN, it’s still not certain when the probe was opened, and whether it was under the leadership of Attorney General Jeff Sessions or Attorney General William Barr.
It’s also allegedly not clear what the Trump administration was hoping to find in Starr’s records.
“The Justice Department confirmed the records were sought through the courts last year but provided no further explanation or context,” CNN reported.
According to a Justice Department official, Starr was not the target of any kind of investigation.
CNN Condemned The Data Collection
After news of the collection of Starr’s personal records broke, CNN President Jeff Zucker took aim at the Trump administration’s actions.
“CNN strongly condemns the secret collection of any aspect of a journalist’s correspondence, which is clearly protected by the First Amendment. We are asking for an immediate meeting with the Justice Department for an explanation.”
The revelation is the third in recent weeks that show that the Trump administration used the DOJ to expose critics of the real estate mogul or collect the communications of journalists.
The News Has Raised Concerns About Press Freedom
The news has led to a backlash and concerns are being raised about the dangerous precedent Trump’s administration set with its actions.
“It’s abhorrent, and we need assurances this won’t ever happen again, rather than the tepid, half-hearted responses coming from DOJ right now,” tweeted Washington Post reporter Alex Horton.
“This is a reprehensible affront to the constitutional protections all Americans enjoy,” tweeted ABC anchor Steve Irwin.
“If they can do this to the press, they can do it to you.”
Trump Supporters Allegedly Spied On FBI
Another recent bombshell report from The New York Times claimed that supporters of Trump worked with British former spy Richard Seddon to spy on the FBI and oust Trump’s national security adviser at the time, H.R. McMaster.
As The Inquisitr reported, Blackwater founder Erik Prince allegedly recruited Seddon to train employees of Project Veritas to infiltrate targets at the FBI.
Prince previously ran a secret CIA training operation under former President George. W Bush’s administration.
The operation was allegedly approved by former Vice President Dick Cheney.
