US News
Federal prosecutors decline to say if they secretly obtained Don Lemon's phone records
Attorneys for the journalist argue the Department of Homeland Security misused a customs-related summons to seek his telecommunications logs in a Minnesota protest prosecution.
The short version
- Attorneys for journalist Don Lemon stated in a court filing that federal prosecutors have declined to clarify whether they obtained his phone records from Verizon via an administrative summons.
- The Department of Homeland Security issued the request under a customs statute following a January protest at a Saint Paul church that led to civil rights conspiracy charges against Lemon and others.
- Defense lawyers representing nearly all defendants in the case filed a motion to dismiss, alleging the government issued more than 90 improper summonses beyond its legal authority.
Key facts
- The Department of Homeland Security served Verizon with an administrative summons in January for a month of Don Lemon's phone records under 19 USC 1509, a law related to customs investigations.[The Guardian]
- Lemon's legal team filed court documents stating prosecutors did not respond to inquiries regarding whether Verizon actually complied with the summons.[The Guardian]
- Lemon and independent journalist Georgia Fort were charged in January with conspiring to violate laws protecting religious expression while covering a church protest involving an Immigration and Customs Enforcement pastor.[The Guardian]
- The Department of Homeland Security previously used the same statute to obtain six months of telephone logs for Georgia Fort from T-Mobile without prior notice.[The Guardian]
- Defendants filed a joint motion to dismiss the charges, arguing the government improperly issued over 90 administrative summonses for telephone, travel, employment, and social media records.[The Guardian]
- Prosecutors have previously defended using Section 1509 summonses on the grounds that the Department of Homeland Security has broad authority to enforce laws under its jurisdiction, including potential crimes against its officials.[The Guardian]
What remains uncertain
- It remains unconfirmed whether Verizon complied with the administrative summons or turned over Lemon's phone records to investigators.[The Guardian]
- The court has yet to rule on the joint motion by defendants seeking to dismiss the prosecution over allegations of government overreach.[The Guardian]