Watchdog: Federal anti-terror unit investigated journalists

By MARK SHERMAN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A special federal Customs and Border Protection unit used sensitive government databases intended to investigate as many as 20 U.S.-based journalists, including a Pulitzer Prize-winning Associated Press reporter. That’s what a federal watchdog’s 500-plus page report finds. And a lengthy report by Yahoo News on the investigation finds that the unit queried records of congressional staffers and perhaps members of Congress. Customs and Border Protection agent Jeffrey Rambo, who acknowledged running checks on journalists in 2017, told federal investigators that the practice is routine. The revelations are raising alarms among news organizations and prompting a demand for a full explanation from the government.