The Department of Justice Is Criticized by Lawmakers and Advocates for Its Use of Gag Orders
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, along with media and technology companies, slammed the Department of Justice (DOJ) for its increasing use of gag orders that block communications companies from notifying those whose records have been secretly seized by the government.
The department is under widespread scrutiny after seizing phone and email records and blocking communication companies from notifying journalists, two Democratic lawmakers and even former White House counsel Don McGahn that their records had been obtained.
At a House Judiciary Committee hearing that Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) called “remarkably agreeable,” lawmakers and advocates found consensus for placing limits on DOJ’s ability to access such records without notification and pushed stricter standards for the judges that ultimately grant them.
