US Justice Dept says it will no longer seize reporters’ records

US news outlets say Trump administration had secretly tried to obtain journalists’ records as part of leak probes.

The United States Justice Department has said it will no longer secretly obtain journalists’ records in leak investigations, after recent revelations that former President Donald Trump’s administration had secretly obtained reporters’ phone and email records. In a statement on Saturday, Justice Department spokesman Anthony Coley said that “in a change to its longstanding practice”, the department “will not seek compulsory legal process in leak investigations to obtain source information from members of the news media doing their jobs”. “The department strongly values a free press, protecting First Amendment values, and is committed to taking all appropriate steps to ensure the independence of journalists,” Coley said.