2017–2018 Department of Justice metadata seizures

The United States Department of Justice under the Trump administration acquired by a February 2018 subpoena the Apple iCloud metadata of two Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee, several others associated with the committee, and some of their family members. The subpoena covered 73 phone numbers and 36 email addresses since the inception of the accounts. Seizing communications information of members of Congress is extraordinarily rare. The department also subpoenaed and obtained 2017 and 2018 phone log and email metadata from news reporters for CNN, The Washington Post and The New York Times. Apple also received and complied with February 2018 subpoenas for the iCloud accounts of White House counsel Don McGahn and his wife. Microsoft received a subpoena relating to a personal email account of a congressional staff member in 2017.

The seizures were made under unusual gag orders and were part of the department's attempt to identify who had leaked information to the press about contacts between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies, as well as foreign policy matters. The subpoenas began under Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who in March 2017 had recused himself from all investigations relating to Russia, and continued under Attorney General Bill Barr. Both men, and their deputy Rod Rosenstein, later said they had no knowledge of the subpoena for members of Congress. The subpoenas first came to the attention of the public via press reports in May 2021, as gag orders expired and the targets of the subpoenas were finally notified that their data had been given to the Justice Department. The Justice Department inspector general and House Judiciary Committee soon opened investigations.