US to investigate Trump-era seizures of Democrats’ phone data

Calls grow for former attorneys general Bill Barr and Jeff Sessions to testify about the data seizures.

The Justice Department’s internal watchdog has launched an investigation into efforts by former President Donald Trump’s administration to secretly seize the communications data of Democrats in the United States House of Representatives. The announcement by Inspector General Michael Horowitz came shortly after Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco made the request on Friday. Horowitz said he would examine whether the data turned over by Apple followed the department policy and “whether any such uses, or the investigations, were based upon improper considerations”. Reports had emerged on Thursday that the Trump administration seized phone data from House Democrats in 2018 as part of an aggressive leaks investigation.