The inspector general alleges that Trump broke policy to learn the journalist’s sources

A report on the DOJ’s failures to cooperate with the news media and the 2016 presidential campaign: Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s office probed sources of leaked classified information

The IG found that the DOJ failed to follow policy when it came to seeking the journalist’s records, neglecting to convene a committee to review compulsory records requests. The alleged violation happened just a few years after the department under the Obama administration “overhauled” its policy regarding the news media following backlash over its aggressive tactics toward journalists. “We were troubled that these failures occurred only a few years after this overhaul,” the IG’s office writes.

But a new report from Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s office said the watchdog did find the leak investigations targeted a far larger number of congressional staffers than previously known: 43 individuals, almost evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats.

The inspectorgeneral’s office examined investigations into sources of leaked classified information that were published in news articles. There were some stories about possible ties between the 2016 Trump presidential campaign and Russia.

The report mentions two people who are not named in it but are known to be members of Congress. Both lawmakers were sharp critics of then-President Trump, and they raised concerns about being possibly targeted by investigators for political reasons.

The lawmakers and staffers all had access to the classified information contained in news articles as part of their congressional oversight responsibilities, the report said. They were given access to the classified materials close in time to when the information leaked to the media.

“As a result, dozens of congressional staffers became part of the subject pool in a federal criminal investigation for nothing more than performing constitutionally authorized oversight of the executive branch,” the report said.

The inspector general’s office did not find “any evidence of retaliatory or political motivation by the career prosecutors who issued the compulsory process for non-content records that we reviewed.”

The Independent Inspector General’s Report on Subpoena Requests and Their Use in Investigating the News Media under the Biden Administration

It warned that such subpoenas could jeopardize Congress’s ability to conduct oversight since they expose congressional officials to potentially having their records reviewed for carrying out their constitutional duties.

gag orders were placed on third-party service providers who were issued subpoenas because they were forbidden from notifying the congressional officials of their subpoenas.

The report also said that the Justice Department did not have a policy at the time that addressed the use of such subpoenas to obtain communication records from congressional officials.

The rules the department created to strengthen consultation and approval requirements could be revised as the administration sees fit.

The inspector general’s report says the Justice Department complied with some but not all of its own procedures related to investigations involving the media. The department failed to convene a committee to consider the subpoena requests beforehand, and it failed to obtain a required certification from the Director of national Intelligence in one of the investigations.

The Justice Department’s policy regarding the news media was strengthened under the Biden administration. He didn’t allow compulsory legal process to be used for obtaining reporters’ communication records in limited circumstances.

The report comes just over a month before President-elect Donald Trump is set to resume office following his election win and raises questions about how his administration will handle similar information requests in the future. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) attempted to pass the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying (PRESS) Act by unanimous consent on Tuesday, but was blocked by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR). It would protect reporters from having to reveal their sources.