Trump-era DOJ secretly seized phone and email records of CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr under 10-month gag order
In July 2020, the Trump-era U.S. Department of Justice secretly obtained phone toll records and email metadata for CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr covering June 1 – July 31, 2017. A § 2705(b) gag order barred CNN's general counsel from informing the newsroom for approximately 10 months. CNN challenged the orders in sealed proceedings in the Eastern District of Virginia. The gag lifted May 13, 2021; CNN disclosed the seizure publicly on May 20, 2021.
Dates: Records period June 1 – July 31, 2017; § 2703(d) order to WarnerMedia ~July 17, 2020; CNN secret challenge throughout late 2020 and early 2021; gag lifted May 13, 2021; public disclosure May 20, 2021. Individuals and organizations: Barbara Starr (CNN Pentagon correspondent); CNN/WarnerMedia; David Vigilante (CNN general counsel); AG William Barr; AG Merrick Garland (later approved continuing portions of the gag for a period before dropping it). What happened: DOJ obtained phone toll records and email metadata for Starr through grand jury subpoena and § 2703(d) court order. The order included a § 2705(b) gag prohibiting WarnerMedia from notifying Starr. Vigilante was notified but legally barred from informing the newsroom or Starr for ~10 months. CNN fought the order before a magistrate and district judge in EDVA. The magistrate initially granted CNN's narrowing request but reversed after a classified supplemental declaration; the district court (December 2020) excluded purely internal email metadata; further narrowing was negotiated in January 2021. Legal authority used: Grand jury subpoena (toll records); § 2703(d) Stored Communications Act order (email metadata); § 2705(b) gag order. Outcome: Both phone and email metadata obtained. Gag lifted; CNN reported publicly. No journalist charged. The December 2024 DOJ Inspector General report criticized the failure to provide advance notice and the scope of the gag. Why it matters: Confidential sources were at issue. The case is the only known active judicial challenge by a news organization to a Trump-era reporter records demand, fought entirely in secret. The Biden DOJ's continued maintenance of the gag for a period prompted AG Garland to later express regret.