This week, our Yahoo News colleague Jana Winter discovered the existence of a secret investigations unit inside the Department of Homeland Security. It was snooping into the private lives of journalists as well as congressional staff members and others. They were pulling phone records, travel records, personal contacts, and much else. All of this under the guise of cultivating them to help with the legitimate government investigation into, of all things, cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This secret unit launched an initiative called Operation Whistle Pig that targeted journalists. Informally, it called itself W.O.L.F. - way out there in left field. Winter joins us to discuss as well as an ACLU lawyer, Hugh Handeyside, about why this is so alarming.

GUESTS:

• Jana Winter (@janawinter), Investigative Correspondent @YahooNews
• Hugh Handeyside (@hhandeyside), Senior Staff Attorney, @ACLU National Security Project

HOSTS:

• Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff), Chief Investigative Correspondent, Yahoo News
• Daniel Klaidman (@dklaidman), Editor in Chief, Yahoo News
• Victoria Bassetti (@VBass), fellow, Brennan Center for Justice (contributing co-host)

 

RESOURCES:

• Jana Winter's Operation Whistle Pig story - whistle-pig-inside-the-secret-cbp-unit-with-no-rules-that-investigates-americans-100000147.html">Here.
• Rep. Bennie Thompson, House Homeland Security Chair's reaction to story - disturbing-house-homeland-security-chair-on-report-of-cbp-investigating-journalists-and-elected-officials-223142505.html">Here.

 

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