Blumenthal Statement On Reports Of Federal Government’s Confiscation Of Telephone Records From Associated Press Bureaus

(Washington, DC) – Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) issued the following statement in response to reports that the U.S. government secretly confiscated telephone records from Associated Press bureaus, including the bureau in Hartford, Connecticut:

“I am deeply troubled by reports of the federal government’s apparently sweeping information collection from Associated Press bureaus, including Hartford. I am concerned that this investigative action may fail to meet the government’s high burden when invasion of privacy and chilling effects on First Amendment rights are at risk. Long accepted and strongly established constitutional principles of free expression and profoundly important public interests protect the press from government interference and intrusion. The Department of Justice must be forthcoming with the facts as soon as possible.”

###