From: AP
Posted on 05/13/2013 by Erin Madigan White
The U.S. Department of Justice notified The Associated Press on
Friday, May 10, that it had secretly obtained telephone records for more
than 20 separate telephone lines assigned to AP journalists and
offices, including cell and home phone lines.
AP is asking the DOJ for an immediate explanation of the
extraordinary action and for the records to be returned to AP and all
copies destroyed.
AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt protested the massive intrusion into AP’s newsgathering activities in a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday, May 13.
In the letter Pruitt states:
“There can be no possible justification
for such an overbroad collection of the telephone communications of The
Associated Press and its reporters. These records potentially reveal
communications with confidential sources across all of the newsgathering
activities undertaken by the AP during a two-month period, provide a
road map to AP’s newsgathering operations, and disclose information
about AP’s activities and operations that the government has no
conceivable right to know.”
“We regard this action by the
Department of Justice as a serious interference with AP’s constitutional
rights to gather and report the news.”
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