Justice Department bars seizing reporters' phone and email records
After it came to light that the Trump-era Justice Department had secretly obtained the phone and email records of reporters at The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a policy barring prosecutors from using subpoenas or other compulsory process against journalists in leak investigations.1
- Country
- United States (RSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180)
- Where
- United States
- Level of government
- National
- Tactic
- Surveillance and subpoenas
- Stage
- Punish (see the ladder)
- Head of government at the time
- Joe Biden
- Issue of the day
- In mid-2021, The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN separately disclosed that the Justice Department had secretly seized their reporters' phone and email records years earlier while investigating leaks, including of information about contacts between Trump campaign associates and Russia.
- Outcome
- Reversed, April 25, 2025. Attorney General Bondi rescinded these protections in April 2025, restoring the department's earlier discretionary balancing test.
- Era
- The 2020s
What happened
In 2021, the Justice Department notified The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN that it had secretly obtained phone records, and in the Times' case attempted to obtain email records, from reporters during leak investigations that began under the first Trump administration, in one case accompanied by a nondisclosure order barring Times executives from disclosing the request. After the disclosures drew public criticism, President Biden called the practice "simply wrong," and on July 19, 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memorandum barring the department from using subpoenas, warrants, court orders or civil investigative demands to compel journalists' records or testimony in leak investigations while they are gathering news, subject to narrow exceptions such as an imminent threat to life. A department spokesman said prosecutors would no longer seek such compulsory process against journalists doing their jobs.1234
What reason was given
The Justice Department said the new policy reflected that "a free and independent press is vital to the functioning of our democracy," and committed the department to protecting First Amendment values and journalists' independence.2
What changed for reporting
The policy removed, for the time being, the threat that reporters covering national security and government leaks could have their phone or email records secretly seized by federal investigators, a practice that had already occurred at three major news organizations.3
Timeline
2021
Who acted
| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
|---|---|---|
| Joe Biden | other | President of the United States, 2021-2025 |
| Merrick Garland | ordered | United States Attorney General, 2021-2025 |
| United States Department of Justice | enforced | Federal executive department |
Outlets and journalists
| Name | Kind | Relation |
|---|---|---|
| CBS News | outlet | affected |
| The New York Times | outlet | affected |
Sources
- Attorney General Merrick Garland restricts efforts to seize reporters' records
- Justice Department to stop seizing reporter records
Claims cited
- Garland's memo barred the department from using compulsory process to obtain journalists' newsgathering records.
Because a free and independent press is vital to the functioning of our democracy, the Department of Justice has long employed procedural protections and a balancing test to restrict the use of compulsory process to obtain information from or records of members of the media.
Attorney General Merrick Garland restricts efforts to seize reporters' records, CBS News, 2021-07-19. Claim 339, checked 2026-09-22. - A DOJ spokesman said the department would stop seeking compulsory process against journalists doing their jobs.
will not seek compulsory legal process in leak investigations to obtain source information from members of the news media doing their jobs.
Justice Department to stop seizing reporter records, Axios, 2021-06-05. Claim 340, checked 2026-09-22. - President Biden said the earlier seizure of reporters' records was wrong.
Absolutely, positively it's wrong. It's simply, simply wrong.
Justice Department to stop seizing reporter records, Axios, 2021-06-05. Claim 341, checked 2026-09-22. - The department confirmed its commitment to press independence when announcing the policy.
The department strongly values a free press, protecting First Amendment values, and is committed to taking all appropriate steps to ensure the independence of journalists.
Justice Department to stop seizing reporter records, Axios, 2021-06-05. Claim 342, checked 2026-09-22.