Federal authorities covertly obtained Associated Press telephone data records
In a controversial turn of events in 2012, the US government was accused of secretly seizing phone records en masse from Associated Press (AP) offices and reporters. This revelation, made public in 2013, uncovered that the Department of Justice had clandestinely obtained two months’ worth of telephone records for AP reporters and offices, including phone numbers dialed and times of calls.
The investigation was connected to a leak investigation regarding a classified operation foiled by the AP. The purpose of the probe remains undisclosed, but the impact on freedom of the press was significant and widely criticized. This aggressive surveillance was seen as an unprecedented intrusion on a major news organization and raised serious concerns about press freedom and the government’s ability to intimidate journalists and chill investigative reporting.
The Associated Press Chief Executive, Gary Pruitt, expressed his concern over the records seizure in a letter addressed to Attorney General Eric Holder. He stated that there could be no possible justification for such an overbroad collection of the telephone communications of The Associated Press and its reporters.
The US Attorney's Office in the District of Columbia maintained that it was "careful and deliberative" when dealing with issues around freedom of the press. However, over 20 phone lines assigned to the Associated Press and its reporters' websites were gathered by the Justice Department. Five reporters' websites and an editor involved in the story were among those whose phone numbers were obtained by the US government.
The seizure of AP's telephone records was described as a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" into news-gathering operations. The incident sparked debate over the balance between national security and the constitutional protection of press freedom under the First Amendment.
While the specific details of the investigation and records seized were controversial, this episode serves as a notable example of tensions between national security interests and protection of journalistic sources. It underscores the risks to freedom of the press posed by government surveillance of journalists and the need for safeguards to protect reporters and their confidential communications. Unfortunately, further details about this event are not widely available in the search results.
It is worth noting that US officials have previously mentioned a criminal investigation into information contained in a 7 May, 2012, AP story about a CIA operation in Yemen that stopped an al-Qaeda plot to detonate a bomb on an airplane headed for the US. The US Attorney's Office issued a statement saying it was following all applicable laws, federal regulations, and Department of Justice policies when issuing subpoenas for phone records of media organizations.
The controversial seizure of Associated Press (AP) phone records in 2012, a general news event, was connected to a leak investigation and raised concerns about crime and justice, as it was seen as an unprecedented intrusion on a major news organization and prompted debate over the balance between national security and press freedom protected by the First Amendment. The AP Chief Executive, Gary Pruitt, expressed his concern over the records seizure, stating that there could be no justification for such broad collection of telephone communications of the AP and its reporters.
