Trump Justice Department Obtained 4 ‘N.Y. Times’ Reporters’ Phone Records

Adam Goldman, a New York Times reporter, was one of four journalists at the publication whose phone records the Department of Justice under the Trump Administration obtained in 2017. The reason for the scrutiny appears to have been due to the fact that they had reported on former FBI Director James Comey and his investigations into Trump.

The Biden Administration revealed this to the publication on Wednesday, and Goldman responded furiously. He wrote on Twitter: “I don’t care who is President – Republican or Democrat – I will always try to inform the public.”

Goldman said that his information has been obtained twice: Once under Obama, and the second time under Trump.

Along with Goldman, the other three Times reporters were Matt Apuzzo, Eric Lichtblau and Michael Schmidt.

These records were discovered in 2020 during an investigation of a possible leak under Trump.

In a statement, Dean Baquet, the executive editor of the Times, said: “Seizing the phone records of journalists profoundly undermines press freedom. It threatens to silence the sources we depend on to provide the public with essential information about what the government is doing.”

The Biden Administration also relayed in early May that the Trump DOJ pulled phone records for three reporters at the Washington Post, as well. At the time, they were also scrutinized because they had been covering possible Russian interference with the 2016 election. A reporter from CNN, Barbara Starr, also had her information handed over to the DOJ. All of the reporters have, by now, been notified.

Biden condemned the DOJ’s actions and assured the public that this will not happen while he is president.