GoKawiilDHS uses customs law to obtain journalists' phone and YouTube records without warrants
After a federal judge twice rejected requests for search warrants targeting the YouTube accounts of journalists Georgia Fort and Don Lemon, the Department of Homeland Security pursued the same information through an administrative summons under a customs statute (19 USC 1509) that requires only internal DHS sign-off, not judicial approval. DHS also obtained six months of Fort's phone records without notifying her or giving her a chance to contest it. The customs law is intended for verifying import duties, not for investigations unrelated to trade.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
This maneuver lets DHS sidestep the Fourth Amendment protections a judge already invoked when he found no probable cause and insisted the journalists be informed. Using a customs-focused statute to surveil reporters, non-profits and unions sets a precedent for bypassing judicial review in politically sensitive investigations, with secrecy clauses preventing targets from even knowing they're being watched.
- A judge twice denied DHS/prosecutors' warrant requests for journalists' YouTube data, citing lack of probable cause.
- DHS then used an obscure customs provision (19 USC 1509) requiring no judicial approval to get the same data.
- Journalist Georgia Fort's phone records were obtained secretly, without notice or opportunity to challenge the request.
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Published there as: “DHS is using obscure law to snoop on journalists, non-profits, unions”
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