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Exclusive: A watchdog group is asking a federal court to unseal documents related to members of Congress’ personal phone and email records subpoenaed by the Justice Department during the Trump-Russia investigation, Fox News Digital reports. I found out from the information.
Empower Oversight Whistleblorers & Research filed a complaint Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which was first obtained by Fox News Digital, saying the matter is of “significant public interest.”
The motion also revealed a confidentiality order the Justice Department had placed on Google to prevent the tech giant from notifying users that their records were being targeted.
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Jason Foster, the founder of Empower Oversight, revealed in October 2023 that the Department of Justice had in 2017 linked his Google email address to his family’s phone and two of his government offices. I received a notice that records related to my Google Voice phone number were obtained and a subpoena was served on Google. Work phone.
The Justice Department has reportedly barred Google from notifying certain Congressional staff of subpoenas for their records. (Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
At the time, Mr. Foster was serving in the U.S. Senate as chief investigative adviser to the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Senator Chuck Grassley.
The Justice Department’s subpoena to Google forced the company to release records related to Foster’s Google account, as well as records of other Google customers.
“Based on further discussions with the U.S. Senate General Counsel’s Office, the Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General, Mr. Foster’s former colleagues who also received notices, and Google’s lawyers, we believe that the other accounts named in the subpoena are “Both Republicans and Democrats participated in U.S. House and Senate committees that were similarly engaged in oversight of the Department of Justice under constitutional authority,” the filing states. has been done.
Empower Oversight said the Justice Department “withheld that critical context from Google” and questioned whether the Justice Department also withheld that information from the court.
Empower Oversight said the nature of the records obtained by the Justice Department “could make it easier for the agency to identify confidential whistleblowers who were providing information to Congress about government wrongdoing.” .
“Layers of secrecy exist between important documents submitted by the Department of Justice in this case and public access,” the filing states, calling for the release of records related to the investigation.
One of the staffers whose communications were allegedly subpoenaed previously served on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which was then chaired by Sen. Chuck Grassley. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Justice Department “obtained a subpoena and subsequently requested and received a non-disclosure order.” [NDOs] “This provision prohibited Google from notifying ‘others’ of the existence of a subpoena,” the filing states.
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“Thus, the public is deprived of the opportunity to learn what basis (if any) the Department of Justice provided in support of the NDO’s request,” the filing states.
According to Empower Oversight, the subpoena appears to be related to the leak of classified information, which resulted in the indictment and guilty plea of James Wolf, the former security director for the Senate Intelligence Committee.
After Mr. Wolf was convicted of making false statements to the FBI, the Justice Department asked the court to renew the confidentiality order three more times for one year.
The Justice Department has reportedly barred Google from notifying certain Congressional staff of subpoenas for their records. (Reuters)
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa. Ted Cruz of Texas. Mike Lee of Utah, 11, after the collection of these records was revealed in an Empower Oversight Freedom of Information Act request while members of the House and Senate were investigating Trump-Russia origins. In September, it launched a subpoena and an investigation into the Justice Department’s efforts to collect logs of individuals’ phone calls and emails. Investigations during the Trump administration.
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Back in 2018, then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein threatened to subpoena the personal records of House Intelligence Committee staff during a standoff over the Justice Department’s “committee enforcement failures,” senators said. was announced in November.
A Google spokesperson did not comment directly on Empower Oversight’s filing, but told Fox News Digital that the company is facing increased confidentiality orders from federal prosecutors.
“We are seeing confidentiality orders being issued in response to an increasing number of court orders, warrants, and subpoenas from U.S. authorities. Delayed notifications result in users going to court to contest requests for their data. For these reasons, we support the bipartisan NDO Fairness Act, which would ensure that gag orders are only issued for a reasonable period of time and in legitimate cases.” A Google spokesperson said in a statement.
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The Justice Department declined to comment.
The investigation that led to the subpoena began under the Trump administration.
