Investigating the nature of the leaks in 2016 presidential campaign: Horowitz’s office reveals that congressional staffers had access to classified information that appeared in news articles
The agency sought non-content communications records on some journalists, such as email logs and phone records, rather than the content of the conversations, according to the IG. The Times had previously reported that Trump’s DOJ was looking into whether former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey had been the source of classified information that leaked in 2017 about Russian hackers.
But a new report from Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s office said the watchdog did find the leak investigations targeted a far larger number of congressional staffers than previously known: 43 individuals, almost evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats.
The inspector general’s office looked into investigations into the sources of leaked classified information that appeared in news articles. Some of the stories related to possible ties between the 2016 Trump presidential campaign and Russia.
The two members of Congress are not identified in the report but are known to be Rep. Adam Schiff, who was the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee at the time, and Rep. Eric Swalwell, another Democrat on the panel. Both of the lawmakers who were critical of Trump raised concerns that they would be targeted for political reasons.
The lawmakers and staffers all had access to the classified information contained in news articles as part of their congressional oversight responsibilities, the report said. They got to see the classified material close in time to see it leak to the media.
A report states that congressional staffers became involved in a criminal investigation for performing constitutionally authorized oversight of the executive branch.
The inspector general’s office did not find “any evidence of retaliatory or political motivation by the career prosecutors who issued the compulsory process for non-content records that we reviewed.”
Comments on the subpoenas issued to news media and their impact on the role of the news media in American Democracy and the PRESS act
But it noted that such subpoenas “risks chilling Congress’s ability to conduct oversight” because it exposes congressional officials to potentially having their records reviewed for carrying out their constitutional duties.
The subpoenas were issued to third-party service providers, and included gag orders preventing them from notifying the congressional officials that their records had been subpoenaed.
The report also said that the Justice Department did not have a policy at the time that addressed the use of such subpoenas to obtain communication records from congressional officials.
The department created rules since then to strengthen consultation and approval requirements to take such steps, although the incoming administration could revise the requirements as it sees fit.
The Department deviated from its own requirements in two different areas, one for the role of the news media in American Democracy and the other for its commitment to complying with the limits.
Attorney General Garland strengthened the Justice Department’s policy towards the news media. In limited circumstances, he did not allow compulsory legal process for obtaining reporters’ communication records.
The report comes just over a month before President-elect Donald Trump is set to resume office following his election win and raises questions about how his administration will handle similar information requests in the future. Schumer attempted to pass the PRESS act by unanimous consent on Tuesday but it was held up by Cotton. If passed, it would help protect reporters from having to reveal their sources.