The Justice Dept.’s internal watchdog has been asked to investigate a Trump-era seizure of communication records from some Democratic lawmakers, according to an official in the agency.
It joins a burgeoning effort in Congress to unearth more details about what happened in 2017 when the DOJ under former President Donald Trump asked Apple to turn over communication metadata for at least two Democratic House members, their staff and family members.
A House Intelligence Committee official said Friday that the panel's Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff, who was among those targeted, has been unable to obtain information about the subpoena from Biden administration officials. For instance, the committee specifically asked what metadata was included in the subpoenas and the Justice Department has not provided answers, the official said.
The official added that the only notification of the subpoenas came via email from Apple — an email that some who saw it believed might be spam, until they checked further.Thursday that under former President Donald Trump, the Justice Department subpoenaed metadata in February 2018 from Apple related to accounts belonging to at least two Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee. Their aides and family members, including a minor, were targeted as well.
"Under department practice, any investigation into an elected official would have been considered a sensitive matter that would have required high-level approval," she said.
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