Mystery surrounds Justice’s pledge on journalist records

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The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) pledge that it will no longer secretly obtain the records of journalists has left a number of unanswered questions about the department’s handling of leak investigations initiated during the Trump era.

It’s not clear what high-ranking Biden officials knew and when as the Justice Department proceeded with cases involving reporters from three different media outlets or why the department continued to push for gag orders in two cases even after President Biden said late last month that seizure of journalist records was “simply wrong.”

Press advocates were happy to see the DOJ reverse itself Saturday and say it would no longer target journalists, but they also point out they’d like to know more. Continue reading.