WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th December, 2021) The Associated Press (AP) Executive Editor Julie Pace in a letter to the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has asked to provide answers on the agency's alleged practice of investigating journalists by using government databases intended to track international terrorists, the news agency reported.
According to a report produced by a special unit inside the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and obtained by the AP, the sensitive government databases have been used to investigate as many as 20 US journalists as well as congressional staffers and possibly members of Congress.
AP's investigative reporter and Pulitzer prize winner Martha Mendoza was also among the individuals who were investigated using these databases as a potential confidential informant during the Trump administration, according to the report.
"This is a flagrant example of a Federal agency using its power to examine the contacts of journalists," Pace said in the letter. "While the actions detailed in the inspector general's report occurred under a previous administration, the practices were described as routine."
Over the weekend, CBP issued a statement saying that its vetting and investigative practices are "strictly governed" and that the agency doesn't investigate without a legitimate and legal basis to do so while Mayorkas has not yet responded to the request.
"We are deeply concerned about this apparent abuse of power," the AP said in a separate statement as quoted in the report. "This appears to be an example of journalists being targeted for simply doing their jobs, which is a violation of the First Amendment."
