Trump Justice Dept. Investigated Congressional Democrats in Search for Leaks of Classified Intel

What’s the story?

• The New York Times reported that the Dept. of Justice (DOJ) during the Trump administration subpoenaed records belonging to at least two prominent Democratic lawmakers who sat on the House Intelligence Committee amid a probe into leaks of classified information in 2017 and 2018. The matter has reportedly been referred to the DOJ’s Inspector General for review.
• Pursuant to subpoenas issued by a grand jury, Apple provided the DOJ with metadata from electronic devices belonging to Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who was committee’s ranking member at the time and is currently its chairman, along with Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA). Apple was bound from disclosing that it provided the government with the metadata under a gag order that recently expired, which allowed the reports to proceed.
• Additionally, subpoenas were granted for electronic data belonging to at least 10 other people connected to the committee, including staffers and some family members, one of whom was a minor, as investigators tried to determine whether a leaker used devices that weren’t their own to conceal contacts with media about classified information. 
• According to the report, the DOJ was unable to determine the source of the intelligence leaks despite taking the step of securing the metadata from the Apple devices. The investigation initially began during the tenure of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and was revived after Attorney General William Barr was confirmed to lead the DOJ.
• The Trump administration and congressional Republicans have long accused Schiff and Swalwell of leaking classified information to the media, particularly during their committee’s probe of alleged collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign when pieces of information from closed depositions were selectively leaked to media outlets. 
• During that period, Schiff repeatedly told the media that he had “more than circumstantial evidence” of collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia. Ultimately, Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report concluded that there was no evidence to suggest collusion or conspiracy between Trump’s campaign and Russia.
• More recently, Schiff and Swalwell were suspected of leaking information from the committee’s impeachment inquiry into then-President Donald Trump’s call with the president of Ukraine in 2019, along with intelligence about Russia allegedly offering bounties to insurgents in Afghanistan for killing American servicemembers. The Intelligence Community announced in April 2021 that it had only “low to moderate” confidence in the bounties story, which suggests it’s unproven at best and possibly false.

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: Shane McCoy - U.S. Marshals Service via DOJ Office of Public Affairs Flickr / Creative Commons)