Trump Administration Using Little Known Customs Law to Try to Get Phone Records for Journalists: Report The Department of Homeland Security has been accused of exploiting an obscure customs statute, 19 USC 1509, to obtain phone records and social media data from journalists and nonprofit organizations without judicial oversight. According to The Guardian, the agency leveraged this law, which grants authority to inspect records related to customs imports and duties, to bypass traditional legal safeguards. The move has drawn sharp criticism from legal experts and press freedom advocates, who argue it represents a dangerous overreach that could undermine journalistic protections. The controversy centers on efforts to secure records from journalists such as former CNN anchor Don Lemon and independent reporter Georgia Fort. Lemon and Fort were arrested in January and charged with conspiracy to deprive rights after reporting on a protest at a St. Paul, Minnesota church during a surge of immigration-related demonstrations. Federal prosecutors attempted to obtain warrants for their YouTube channels in February but faced rejection from a judge who deemed the government’s evidence insufficient to prove criminal activity. The judge also ordered the journalists to be informed of the request, which DHS later withdrew. Despite the legal setbacks, DHS managed to secure six months of Fort’s phone records from T-Mobile and served Google with a summons under 19 USC 1509. This statute does not require judicial approval, allowing the agency to bypass the usual warrant process. The targets of the investigation expanded beyond Fort and Lemon to include the YouTube accounts of Democracy Now, podcaster Megyn Kelly, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, and independent journalist Brendan Gutenschwager.#trump_administration #department_of_homeland_security #don_lemmon #georgia_fort #st_paul_minnesota
