Incident
United States Justice Department secretly seizes two months of Associated Press phone records
The U.S. Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records from more than 20 Associated Press phone lines during a leak investigation, notifying the news agency only after the fact; AP called the scope of the seizure unjustified.1234
What happened
In April and May 2012, the Associated Press (AP) reported that the CIA had disrupted a plot by an al-Qaeda affiliate in Yemen to bomb a U.S.-bound airplane. The Justice Department, investigating who disclosed the classified operation, obtained telephone toll records covering more than 20 AP office and staff phone lines in New York, Washington and Hartford, Connecticut, and the AP's line in the U.S. House of Representatives press gallery, without first asking AP for the records, as its own guidelines generally required. AP learned of the seizure when the Justice Department notified it on May 10, 2013, and disclosed it publicly on May 13. AP President Gary Pruitt said, "There can be no possible justification for such an over-broad collection of the telephone communications of The Associated Press and its reporters." More than 100 journalists worked in the offices whose numbers were collected. No journalist or source was ever charged in the underlying leak case.1234
What reason was given
Stated justificationAttorney General Eric Holder called the underlying disclosure "among, if not the most serious ... a ... very, very serious leak," and the Justice Department said, "We take seriously our obligations to follow all applicable laws, federal regulations, and Department of Justice policies when issuing subpoenas for phone records of media organisations."12
What changed for reporting
The seizure covered work and personal numbers for AP staff across three bureaus and swept in more than 100 journalists' shared office lines, exposing AP's contacts and sourcing patterns on a wide range of unrelated stories, not only the leak under investigation.34
Timeline
2013
Who acted
| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
|---|---|---|
| Barack Obama | other | President of the United States (2009-2017) |
| Eric Holder | ordered | Attorney General of the United States |
| Gary Pruitt | other | President and Chief Executive, The Associated Press |
Outlets and journalists
| Name | Kind | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| The Associated Press | outlet | affected |
Sources
- US government 'seized AP phone records' archived copy
- AP: DOJ Secretly Obtained AP Reporters' Phone Call Records
Claims and evidence
Each numbered claim quotes the source it rests on.
- AP President Gary Pruitt said there was no possible justification for the scope of the records collection.
There can be no possible justification for such an over-broad collection of the telephone communications of The Associated Press and its reporters.
US government 'seized AP phone records' archived copy, Al Jazeera, 2013-05-14.Claim 224, checked 2026-09-22. - The Justice Department said it followed applicable laws and its own policies when issuing the subpoenas.
We take seriously our obligations to follow all applicable laws, federal regulations, and Department of Justice policies when issuing subpoenas for phone records of media organisations.
US government 'seized AP phone records' archived copy, Al Jazeera, 2013-05-14.Claim 225, checked 2026-09-22. - More than 100 journalists worked in the AP offices whose phone lines were targeted.
More than 100 journalists work in the offices where phone records were targeted, on a wide array of stories about government and other matters.
AP: DOJ Secretly Obtained AP Reporters' Phone Call Records, Lawfare, 2013-05-14.Claim 226, checked 2026-09-22. - AP's top executive called the records seizure a massive and unprecedented intrusion.
massive and unprecedented intrusion
AP: DOJ Secretly Obtained AP Reporters' Phone Call Records, Lawfare, 2013-05-14.Claim 227, checked 2026-09-22.