The Wall Street Journal says it has received grand jury subpoenas seeking reporters’ records as part of a U.S. Justice Department investigation into alleged leaks connected to the Trump administration. The paper said the subpoenas are dated March 4 and were served in the context of the government’s inquiry into how certain information became public. The Journal also said it plans to oppose the effort, consistent with its position that compelled access to reporters’ records should be challenged.
CBS News reports that the Justice Department responds to the Journal’s disclosure by defending the subpoenas. The department’s position is that the subpoenas are part of an ongoing legal process tied to the leak investigation and that the government is acting within its authority.
The accounts described a dispute that centers on whether and how the government can obtain sensitive materials connected to reporting in the course of a leak probe. Both outlets discuss the subpoenas and the leak investigation, but they differ in emphasis: one focuses on the Journal’s intention to contest the subpoenas, while the other focuses on the Justice Department’s justification for them.
