Media reports of the Barr led Justice Dept, accessing media and lawmaker metadata records thru supoena’s has moved the Justice Dept’s Inspector general’s office to look into the situation….
“If circumstances warrant, the OIG will consider other issues that may arise during the review,” he said.
The move follows reports Thursday night that the Justice Department in 2018 secretly subpoenaed Apple for the data of two Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Adam B. Schiff (Calif.) and Rep. Eric Swalwell (Calif.), as well as the data of their current and former staffers and family members…
The US Senate wants a piece of the action……
The top two Senate Democrats on Friday called for multiple investigations into the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) decisions in 2017 and 2018 to issue subpoenas seeking metadata records of House Intelligence Committee members as the Trump administration pursued leak investigations.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) and Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (Ill.) also called for two of former President Trump’s attorneys general, William Barr and Jeff Sessions, to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
“The revelation that the Trump Justice Department secretly subpoenaed metadata of House Intelligence Committee Members and staff and their families, including a minor, is shocking. This is a gross abuse of power and an assault on the separation of powers,” Schumer and Durbin said in a joint statement Friday. “This appalling politicization of the Department of Justice by Donald Trump and his sycophants must be investigated immediately by both the DOJ Inspector General and Congress.”….
Note…
No President likes ‘leaks’…..
Donald Trump & Co. seems to have gone above and beyone the others….
jamesb says
More on the corporations providing info to Trump admin DOJ…..
On Friday, the Justice Department’s independent inspector general opened an investigation into the decision by federal prosecutors to secretly seize the data of House Democrats and reporters. Top Senate Democrats also demanded that the former attorneys general William P. Barr and Jeff Sessions testify before Congress about the leak investigations, specifically about the subpoena issued to Apple and another to Microsoft.
Fred Sainz, an Apple spokesman, said in a statement that the company regularly challenges government data requests and informs affected customers as soon as it legally can.
“In this case, the subpoena, which was issued by a federal grand jury and included a nondisclosure order signed by a federal magistrate judge, provided no information on the nature of the investigation and it would have been virtually impossible for Apple to understand the intent of the desired information without digging through users’ accounts,” he said. “Consistent with the request, Apple limited the information it provided to account subscriber information and did not provide any content such as emails or pictures.”
In a statement, Microsoft said it received a subpoena in 2017 related to a personal email account. It said it notified the customer after the gag order expired and learned that the person was a Congressional staff member. “We will continue to aggressively seek reform that imposes reasonable limits on government secrecy in cases like this,” the company said….
More…
jamesb says
This IS another example of how the Fede’s are following up on abuses perpetrated by Trump & Co…..
There WILL BE MORE as the wrong way of government IS brought into view for review and follow up action….
As I KEEP saying….
“EVERYTHING Donald Trump touches turns to SHIT’…..
jamesb says
Barr trying to duck….
Barr Distances Himself from Subpoenas of Democrats
Politico: “In a phone interview, Barr said he didn’t recall getting briefed on the moves… Barr also said that while he was attorney general, he was ‘not aware of any congressman’s records being sought in a leak case.’”
He also said Trump never encouraged him to target the Democratic lawmakers in this case.
jamesb says
For who the bell tolls?
Aaron Rupar
@atrupar
Replying to
@atrupar
.@SenKamalaHarris: Has the president or anyone at the White House ever asked or suggested you open an investigation into anyone?
BARR: ….. ah …..
HARRIS: Seems like something you should be able to answer
BARR: I don’t know …….
…
Aaron Rupar
@atrupar
Replying to
@atrupar
Under questioning by @SenKamalaHarris, Barr admits that career ethics officials within the DOJ weren’t consulted about possible conflicts of interest that he and Rod Rosenstein had in handling the Mueller investigation
2:37 PM · May 1, 2019·Twitter Web Client