The government obtained “thousands and thousands” of phone records of Associated Press staffers according to CEO Gary Pruitt. Pruitt held a town hall meeting with AP staff and revealed that the phone records obtained by the DOJ included incoming and outgoing calls for the news organizations.
During the town hall, Pruitt reiterated that the AP did not report on a CIA-thwarted terrorist plot in May 2012 out of national security concerns until sources indicated the Obama administration was going to announce it publicly.
The Associated Press has joined the New York Times in refusing to attend an off-the-record briefing by Attorney General Eric Holder over the DOJ’s policy regarding reporters and leak investigations.