Appeals court limits Trump DOJ’s access to journalists’ private chat logs
The unanimous ruling says the request would expose unrelated sources and forces a district court to sharply limit what prosecutors can obtain.
- A federal appeals court has blocked the Trump administration from accessing a sweeping set of journalists' LinkedIn records as part of a national security leak probe, protecting First Amendment freedoms.
- Prosecutors initially sought an 18-month log of journalists' private messages, prompting LinkedIn to challenge the scope in proceedings that started last year, arguing it threatened customer privacy and curtailed freedom of communication.
- Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson, a Reagan appointee, held that the 'overbroad' search would 'deal a damaging blow to First Amendment freedoms,' emphasizing source confidentiality is the 'lifeblood of a free press.'
- The Justice Department inquiry involves a leak concerning 'a top-secret United States military operation in a foreign country' and classified intelligence on 'special operations,' forcing a district court to substantially narrow the records the government may access.
- U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Hanes of Newport News, Virginia, had initially ordered the records kept secret; the decision arrives as the administration has been making an aggressive push for reporters' files in more than one leak case.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Appeals court limits order for LinkedIn to disclose journalists'
WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge must narrow an order requiring LinkedIn to divulge journalists’ communications on the social media platform to the Trump administration as part of a leak investigation, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday in
Appeals court limits order for LinkedIn to disclose journalists' communications in leak probe
A federal judge must narrow an order requiring LinkedIn to divulge journalists’ communications on the social media platform to the Trump administration for a leak investigation
Reagan judge delivers stinging rebuke over Trump DOJ’s secret records grab
In a move to protect First Amendment freedoms, a federal appeals court has blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to obtain a wide array of journalists’ LinkedIn records in its national security leak probe. The court held that such an “overbroad” search would “deal a damaging blow to First Amendment freedoms” and expose confidential sources who have no bearing on the investigation.Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson, a Reagan appointee, wrote for the …
Appeals Court Hands Trump Setback in Leak Probe
“A federal appeals court has blocked the Trump administration from accessing a sweeping set of journalists’ LinkedIn records as part of a national security leak probe, saying the ‘overbroad’ search would ‘deal a damaging blow to First Amendment freedoms’ and expose countless confidential sources with no connection to the investigation,” Politico reports.
DOJ’s Request for Journalists’ LinkedIn Records Found Too Broad
Court orders directing LinkedIn to give the Justice Department records that could reveal “a vast number of confidential sources” for journalists targeted in its investigation into a national security leak must be narrowed, a Fourth Circuit panel ruled.
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