Biden-era DOJ withdraws secret subpoena for Guardian US reporter Stephanie Kirchgaessner's phone records
In February 2021, the Biden-era U.S. Department of Justice issued a secret subpoena to The Guardian US bureau reporter Stephanie Kirchgaessner's mobile carrier, seeking call records in connection with a leak investigation tied to Trump-era child-separation policy reporting. The subpoena was publicly disclosed in May 2022 and ultimately abandoned under the July 2021 Garland media policy.
Dates: Subpoena February 2021; public disclosure May 12, 2022. Individuals and organizations: Stephanie Kirchgaessner (Guardian US, Washington); The Guardian; DOJ; DOJ Inspector General (later reviewed). What happened: A grand jury subpoena was served on Kirchgaessner's mobile carrier seeking call logs and subscriber information, without notice to her. The subpoena was tied to a leak investigation involving Trump-era 'zero tolerance' child-separation immigration policy reporting. Following Garland's June 2021 pledge and the July 2021 formal policy, the subpoena was abandoned. The Guardian publicly disclosed it in May 2022. Legal authority used: Federal grand jury subpoena to a third-party telecommunications carrier. Outcome: Subpoena dropped. Notably the first known instance of the Biden DOJ initiating compulsory process against a journalist; the subsequent Garland policy reversed that posture. Why it matters: Confidential sources were at issue. The case became a key argument for the proposed PRESS Act federal shield law, demonstrating that executive policy alone is insufficient absent statutory protection.