On Tuesday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) sent letters to the chief executive officers of Alphabet, Apple, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon, and Attorney General Garland demanding information on the Department of Justice’s attempts to surveil Members of Congress and congressional staff by obtaining information about their private communications.
On October 19, 2023, Google notified the former Chief Investigative Counsel to then-Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley that the Justice Department had subpoenaed Google in 2017 for the staffer’s personal phone records and emails during the period when Senator Grassley was conducting vigorous oversight of the Department’s handling of the so-called Steele dossier. Google’s notification to this staffer revealed the Justice Department likely also sought the personal records and communications of other congressional staffers—both Republicans and Democrats—who engaged in oversight of the Department during the same period.
The Committee is investigating whether the Justice Department asked other email or telecommunications providers for similar information on Members of Congress and congressional staff.
Excerpts of the letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook:
“The Committee on the Judiciary is conducting oversight of the Justice Department’s attempts to surveil Members of Congress and congressional staff members by obtaining information about their private communications from Apple. On October 19, 2023, Google notified the former Chief Investigative Counsel to then-Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley that the Justice Department had subpoenaed Google in 2017 for the staffer’s personal phone records and emails during the period when Senator Grassley was conducting vigorous oversight of the Department’s handling of the so-called Steele dossier. Google’s notification to this staffer revealed the Justice Department likely also sought the personal records and communications of other congressional staffers—both Republicans and Democrats—who engaged in oversight of the Department during the same period. The Committee is investigating whether the Justice Department asked other email or telecommunications providers for similar information on Members of Congress and congressional staff.
“The Justice Department’s efforts to obtain the private communications of congressional staffers, including staffers conducting oversight of the Department, is wholly unacceptable and offends fundamental separation of powers principles as well as Congress’s constitutional authority to conduct oversight of the Department. This revelation also follows news that the Department issued subpoenas to obtain the private emails and records of congressional staffers on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence who were conducting oversight of the Justice Department’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation. These revelations strongly suggest that the Justice Department weaponized its law-enforcement authority to spy on the entities seeking to hold it accountable.
“Accordingly, to inform our ongoing oversight of the Justice Department, please provide the following documents and information from January 1, 2016, to the present:
1. All documents and communications between or among Apple employees referring or relating to subpoenas or requests issued by the Department of Justice to Apple for personal or official records or communications of Members of Congress or congressional staff;
2. All documents and communications between or among Apple employees and Justice Department employees referring or relating to subpoenas or requests issued by the Department of Justice to Apple for personal or official records or communications of Members of Congress or congressional staff;
3. All material or information that Apple provided to the Justice Department in response to the Department’s subpoenas or requests for personal or official records and communications of Members of Congress or congressional staff; and
4. All subpoenas or requests sent by the Justice Department to Apple for personal or official records and communications of Members of Congress or congressional staff.”
Read the full letter to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai here.
Read the full letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook here.
Read the full letter to AT&T CEO John Stankey here.
Read the full letter to Attorney General Garland here.
Read the full letter to T-Mobile CEO Mile Sievert here.
Read the full letter to Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg here.
