Special counsel Robert Mueller investigated whether a “member of the news media” was involved in the conspiracy to steal information from the Democratic Party, the Justice Department revealed on Thursday.
Nothing appears to have come from this line of inquiry, as no media member was charged with conspiring to steal information from members of a political party. But the disclosure, made in an amendment to an annual report for the 2018 calendar year on law enforcement actions taken against members of the news media, sheds new light on the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversaw Mueller’s investigation after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself, approved a subpoena in 2018 seeking phone and email records from “a member of the news media suspected of participating in the conspiracy,” the document said. Rosenstein also approved a request for a voluntary interview with this member and a subpoena to force testimony before a grand jury.
“All of this information was necessary to further the investigation of whether the member of the news media was involved in the conspiracy to unlawfully obtain and utilize the information from the hacked political party or other victims,” the Justice Department concluded.
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The “member of the news media” was not identified in the document, and it remains unclear what news entity was referenced. The document also does not specifically mention Mueller, but when asked about the identity of the member, a Justice Department spokesperson referred the Washington Examiner to Mueller’s report.
“I think the matter you’re referring to is in the 2019 report,” the DOJ representative said.
Mueller’s report, initially released to the public in April 2019, said his office “issued more than 2,800 subpoenas under the auspices of a grand jury sitting in the District of Columbia; executed nearly 500 search-and-seizure warrants; obtained more than 230 orders for communications records under 18 U.S.C. § 2703(d); obtained almost 50 orders authorizing use of pen registers; made 13 requests to foreign governments pursuant to Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties; and interviewed approximately 500 witnesses, including almost 80 before a grand jury.”
Mueller’s team concluded Russia interfered “in a sweeping and systematic fashion” during the 2016 presidential election, but it “did not establish” any criminal conspiracy between former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia. However, his report described 10 instances of possible obstruction of justice that Democrats seized on as a road map to impeachment. The investigation also led to several convictions and guilty pleas from Trump’s associates over charges unrelated to collusion with Russia.
Mueller, a former FBI director who was appointed special counsel in May 2017, charged 12 Russian intelligence officials with hacking and leaking emails from members of the Democratic Party during the 2016 election.
DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz investigated allegations of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuses over the course of the Russia inquiry. His report, released in December 2019, identified at least 17 “significant errors or omissions” in the Justice Department’s and the FBI’s pursuit of FISA warrants to wiretap Trump campaign associate Carter Page in 2016 and 2017. The watchdog heavily criticized their use of British ex-spy Christopher Steele’s discredited dossier, which was funded by Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee.
Former U.S. Attorney John Durham is conducting a criminal inquiry into the origins and conduct of the Russia investigation as special counsel. So far, Durham has brought only one criminal charge against former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith, who admitted to altering an email about Page. However, last month it was reported the federal prosecutor presented evidence before a grand jury, a sign he is considering more criminal charges.
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Following revelations about efforts taken by the Trump-era Justice Department to get to the bottom of leaks of classified information, Attorney General Merrick Garland instituted a policy restricting the agency’s use of compulsory processes, such as subpoenas, to seize information from members of the media.
“The Department of Justice will no longer use compulsory legal process for the purpose of obtaining information from or records of members of the news media acting within the scope of news gathering activities,” Garland announced in July. “This new prohibition applies to compulsory legal process issued to reporters directly, to their publishers or employers, and to third-party service providers of any of the foregoing. It extends to the full range of compulsory process covered by the current regulations, specifically, warrants, court orders … and civil investigative demands. Further, it applies regardless of whether the compulsory legal process seeks testimony, physical documents, telephone toll records, metadata, or digital content.”
