Trump’s DHS Using: Trump’s DHS Is Using an Obscure Law To
The agency used a customs law to seek phone, social media and financial data on journalists and activists, including more than 10,000 calls and texts, The Guardian reported.
- The Department of Homeland Security is using an obscure 1930 customs law, 19 USC 1509, to secretly obtain private records on journalists and nonprofits without judicial oversight, requiring only agency sign-off rather than a judge's approval.
- DHS pivoted to this summons route after a federal judge twice rejected warrant requests for YouTube account information belonging to Minneapolis journalist Georgia Fort and former CNN anchor Don Lemon, finding no probable cause.
- In one instance, DHS obtained six months of phone records, including logs of more than 10,000 calls and texts, for Fort from T-Mobile without notifying her; experts called this an "improper use" of a law meant strictly for customs violations.
- Former DHS inspector general John Roth called the tactic "outrageous conduct," while DHS also targeted Democracy Now, podcaster Megyn Kelly, and the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, expanding the scope beyond Fort and Lemon.
- The unresolved legal question is whether 1509 applies to investigations unrelated to customs enforcement, and Fort's case could provide a critical test for whether courts will permit such broad administrative access without judicial review.
15 Articles
15 Articles
Trump Admin Used Customs Law to Obtain Journalist's Phone Records Without Prior Judicial Approval
The DHS is controversially using a 1930 customs law to access journalists' records without judicial approval, raising significant legal and ethical concerns about press freedom and privacy.
Guardian: DHS Is Spying On Journalists And Unions
The Guardian reports: The Trump administration has been deploying an obscure legal maneuver to try to obtain private information on journalists, non-profits and unions, raising alarm over a power the government has asserted without judicial oversight. In one instance, the government obtained six months of telephone records for Georgia Fort, a Minneapolis journalist. Fort was … The post Guardian: DHS Is Spying On Journalists And Unions appeared f…
The US Department of Homeland Security will be able to spy on journalists thanks to a "little-known" law, The Guardian reports
The US Department of Homeland Security will be able to spy on journalists thanks to a "little-known" law, The Guardian reports.In one case, the government obtained data on the phone calls of a journalist from Minneapolis. She was not notified of the...
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