Appeals Court Rebukes Trump DOJ Over Demand for Journalists’ LinkedIn Records

A federal appeals court has dismissed the Trump administration's excessive demand for journalists' LinkedIn records, warning it jeopardized press freedom by potentially exposing unrelated sources. The unanimous three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals instructed a lower court to scale back the government's request, which sought 18 months of metadata belonging to journalists at an undisclosed news organization.

As many as 1,000 stories published by the journalists in that period were unrelated to the classified information under investigation. Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III emphasized the critical role of source confidentiality for a free press, stating that without it, journalists' ability to report on significant events and governmental actions could be severely compromised.

The investigation began following the publication of an article describing a top-secret U.S. military operation abroad. The Justice Department then obtained a court order mandating LinkedIn to hand over journalists' metadata, alongside a separate order blocking the company from notifying the journalists or their employers. LinkedIn contested both orders, arguing that the government was requesting information unrelated to the investigation.

The court also directed a reconsideration of a gag order preventing LinkedIn from informing the news outlet or a single, government-approved attorney. While acknowledging the government's legitimate interest in safeguarding classified national security information, the judges refrained from blocking the investigation entirely, recognizing the balance between security and speech claims that exists in the legal landscape.