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Trump’s Complaints About Iran War Leaks Prompt Aggressive DOJ Investigations

The Wall Street Journal · Sadie Gurman, Josh Dawsey, and Aruna Viswanatha · last updated

The Wall Street Journal has received subpoenas for records of reporters

President Trump privately complained to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche about media leaks in the wake of the Iran war last month, according to administration officials familiar with the matter, prompting an aggressive push at the Justice Department to pursue those investigations.

Blanche vowed to secure subpoenas specifically targeting the records of reporters who have worked on sensitive national security stories, one official said. In one meeting, Trump passed a stack of news articles he and other senior officials thought threatened national security to Blanche with a sticky note on it that said “treason,” another administration official said. Senior Justice Department officials have met with counterparts from the Pentagon to discuss the investigations, according to officials familiar with the meetings.

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