18 months LinkedIn chats shielded as appeals court limits DOJ search of journalists’ source records in leak probe

Appeals panel narrows records request

The records would have identified people the journalists contacted on LinkedIn over 18 months, but would not have included their messages. The panel said the journalists published nearly 1,000 articles during that period, with less than five percent apparently connected to the investigation.

Court cites press protections

The judges found that the request was too broad because it could reveal the identities of numerous confidential sources with no apparent connection to the probe. Wilkinson wrote that protecting sources is essential to a free press and to reporting on important events and government conduct.

The ruling said national security authority does not permit the government to indiscriminately collect identities of unrelated sources. It directed a district court to narrow the request and weigh its scope alongside the First Amendment concerns.

Probe secrecy and wider context

The Justice Department opened the investigation after a news outlet published a story about a top-secret U.S. military operation in a foreign country that included classified intelligence. The outlet and the reporters have not been named.

U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Hanes had ordered LinkedIn not to tell the journalists about the government’s request. LinkedIn challenged that secrecy order last year, arguing that compliance could harm users who trust the platform with their data and prevent the company from communicating with them. The appeals panel rejected LinkedIn’s request to cancel the orders entirely.

Other journalist records disputes

The administration has pursued journalists’ records in other leak investigations. In February, a federal judge rejected the Justice Department’s request to search Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s laptop and other devices, which the FBI had seized from her home.

The Justice Department also subpoenaed freelance journalist Matthew Cole over his reporting on a failed, top-secret military operation in North Korea. A magistrate judge recommended enforcing the subpoena last month, and a district court hearing is scheduled for next week.