Democratic lawmakers not initially targeted in Trump DOJ leak probe: report

A pair of Democratic lawmakers whose records were seized through subpoenas in 2018, as part of a Department of Justice (DOJ) probe into congressional leaks, were reportedly not initially targeted in the investigation.

The data of Reps. Adam Schiff (D-N.Y.), who was then the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) were reportedly swept up as a result of the DOJ’s probe into a senior aide on the House Intelligence Committee, rather than an investigation into the lawmakers themselves, CNN reported on Sunday, citing sources.

The original secret subpoena sent to Apple was reportedly part of an attempt by the DOJ to identify people who were associated with the staffer under investigation. The investigators, according to CNN, were looking into a large number of government workers who potentially knew about classified information that ended up in news stories, which included staffers of lawmakers from both parties.

Apple, in response to the original subpoena, sent investigators what the company knew about 109 phone numbers and emails, which included the names for accounts held by Schiff and Swalwell, in addition to a minor.

Sources told the network that reviewing the records sent from Apple may have been the first time federal investigators were aware that they had information relating to the two House members.

The probe, according to the network’s sources, has since been closed.

The secret seizure of the lawmakers’ data is now the focus of a DOJ inspector general investigation.

The office launched the probe one day after The New York Times broke the news of the covert subpoenas.

The leak probe reportedly concentrated on a number of stories that related to the investigation into former President Trump’s ties to Russia, including the revelation that former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page had been the subject of a focus surveillance order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court, CNN reported, citing two sources familiar with the matter.

The revelations regarding the Trump-era DOJ’s secret seizure of information come amid reports that the department also pushed secret subpoenas targeting individuals who were said to be the former president’s political enemies, including reporters at CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post.

The Justice Department told The Hill in an email that it has “no comment.”

Updated at 4:38 p.m.