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NEWS JUNE 21, 2021 ■ 15

‘Sleazy, Dirty Stuff’: Lawyers Say Trump-Era

Subpoenas Raise Uncomfortable Questions

By Jacqueline Thomsen

awyers and former federal prosecutors say
they’re alarmed by a series of recent subpoena
Lscandals implicating the Trump Justice Depart-
ment, pointing to potential political motivations
behind the subpoenas.
Subpoenaing information from lawmakers and
reporters is highly unusual and should have been
subject to strict scrutiny by top department offi-
cials, legal experts said. The subjects involved raised
fraught questions about the First Amendment,
separation of powers and the role of politics in the
department’s investigations. But whether changes
will come to the subpoena process is another ques-
tion that will largely depend on the findings of
investigators.
The Justice Department’s Office of Inspector Gen-
eral said it would investigate the department’s use of
subpoenas for members of Congress and the media,
and Democrats in Congress have also announced
their own probes.
DOJ reportedly cited national security concerns
over leaks of classified information in pursuing the
records. Still, legal experts said the reports have
prompted unanswered questions about the basis for
Impeachment Manager Adam Schiff , D-California,
the leak investigations and the role White House arrives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington for the start of
pressure may have played in the probes. the first Senate Impeachment trial against
“It really sounds like from the more information President Donald Trump, on Jan. 21, 2020.
that comes out, that this is just sleazy, dirty stuff and Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM.
it has the whiff of DOJ being politicalized and the from at least a dozen people tied to the House In-
investigative process being used to target folks who telligence Committee, including two Democratic
are less than complimentary to the president or his congressmen, Rep. Adam Schiff, now the chair of
administration,” said Michael Weinstein, a former the committee, and Rep. Eric Swalwell. The subpoe-
Justice Department prosecutor who is now with nas were issued as part of an investigation into leaks
Cole Schotz. “There are barriers and protocols and of classified information about the Russia investiga-
rules in place at the department to prevent that from tion, the report said.
happening and either they were lowered or they Journalists at The Times, The Washington Post
were just simply brushed aside it appears.” and CNN have also been notified in recent weeks
The New York Times reported last week that that the Justice Department subpoenaed phone and
DOJ sought account information in 2017 and 2018 ■ Continued on PAGE 16

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