AP demands Biden administration explain why U.S. journalists were tracked by DHS

The Associated Press is demanding that the Biden administration explain why the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) used a federal database meant for tracking international terrorists to investigate as many as 20 American journalists – including Pulitzer Prize-winning AP reporter Martha Mendoza.

The AP’s executive editor, Julie Pace, sent a strongly worded letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Monday – inquiring why Mendoza’s name was run through the database and identified as a potential confidential informant during the Trump administration, the AP reported. 

“This is a flagrant example of a federal agency using its power to examine the contacts of journalists,” the letter read. “While the actions detailed in the inspector general’s report occurred under a previous administration, the practices were described as routine.”

The DHS investigation of American journalists came to light after a report from a Homeland Security inspector general was released through a records request made by Yahoo News. According to the documents, Jeffrey Rambo, a Border Patrol agent then working with a Customs and Border Protection unit outside of Washington, D.C., accessed government travel records in 2017 as part of a leak investigation involving reporter Ali Watkins, who was working for Politico at the time.

The inspector general began investigating Rambo after news reports revealed that he had used government resources to investigate Watkins as part of a government effort to crack down on leaks to reporters. 

Documents detailing the inspector general's investigation show that Rambo had routinely run the names of journalists – along with congressional staff, and others – through government databases to vet them while working with the CBP unit, known as the Counter Network Division.

“When a name comes across your desk you run it through every system you have access to, that's just status quo, that's what everyone does,” Rambo told investigators.

Rambo further admitted to having searched for Mendoza in the government's databases before reaching out to her for her expertise in writing about forced labor, which concerns CBP since the agency enforces import restrictions. 

The Associated Press warned that the government investigation of journalists is "the latest apparent example of an agency created in the wake of the 9/11 attacks using its vast capabilities to target American citizens." 

“We are deeply concerned about this apparent abuse of power,” the AP said in a separate statement. “This appears to be an example of journalists being targeted for simply doing their jobs, which is a violation of the First Amendment."

Although the inspector general's office referred the findings of its investigation to a federal prosecutor "for possible charges of abusing government databases and lying to investigators," the Department of Justice declined to prosecute Rambo and two other Homeland Security employees, the AP reported.

“We do not condone the investigation of reporters in response to the exercise of First Amendment rights,” a DHS spokeswoman said Monday. “CBP and every component agency and office in the Department will ensure their practices are consistent with our values and our highest standards.”