Leahy: I Want To Hear DOJ’s Explanation For Collecting AP Phone Records

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Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said Monday night that he was “very troubled” by allegations that the Department of Justice secretly obtained two months of phone records from reporters and editors of the Associated Press, but added that he was awaiting further explanation from the government.

“The burden is always on the government when they go after private information – especially information regarding the press or its confidential sources,” he said in a statement. “I want to know more about this case, but on the face of it, I am concerned that the government may not have met that burden. I am very troubled by these allegations and want to hear the government’s explanation.”

Attorney General Eric Holder is scheduled to testify at a House DOJ oversight hearing on Wednesday.

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