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Telegraph.co.uk

Tuesday 14 May 2013

US Justice Department secretly seizes Associated Press phone records

The US government secretly obtained Associated Press reporters' phone records as it apparently hunted for the source of a leaked story about a foiled al-Qaeda terror plot.

The FBI logo emblem at FBI headquarters in Quantico Virginia USA
The Justice Department secretly seized records on more than 20 phone lines. Photo: Alamy

In what was described as "a massive and unprecedented intrusion" into press freedom, the US Justice Department seized details of incoming and outgoing calls on more than 20 phone lines belonging to America's foremost news agency.

Although investigators are not believed to have tapped the phone lines, the information would allow them to trace confidential government sources contacted by reporters.

The government obtained two months worth of records from phones in AP's Washington, New York and Connecticut offices as well as its bureau in the US House of Representatives.

"There can be no possible justification for such an overbroad collection of the telephone communications of the Associated Press and its reporters," said Gary Pruitt, AP's chief executive, in a letter of protest to the Justice Department.

Investigators did not say why they had seized the records but their actions are believed to be part of an ongoing criminal investigation into how the AP learned of a classified CIA operation to stop a bomb plot last year.

The news agency disclosed in May 2012 that US intelligence, aided by Britain and Saudi Arabia, had prevented al-Qaeda from putting a suicide bomber onto a US-bound airliner.

AP initially held back on reporting the story while the CIA operation was ongoing but refused to comply with Obama administration requests to let the government officially break the news of its success in a press conference.

Five reporters and one editor involved in the story had their phone records seized by the Justice Department.

The seized records fit into a larger pattern in which the Obama administration, which frequently describes itself as "the most transparent administration in history", ruthlessly cracks down on sources of leaks.

Since Mr Obama took office, the Justice Department has pursued six cases against suspected leakers of classified information - more than all previous administrations combined.

The disclosure comes just days after it emerged the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the US tax collection agency, had been deliberately targeting conservative political groups for extra scrutiny.

At a press conference earlier today, Mr Obama said the IRS's behaviour was "outrageous" and promised to hold those responsible accountable.

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