Exclusive: Two congressmembers respond to revelations of government snooping on journalists, non-profits and unions

Two congressional Democrats asked a government watchdog Tuesday to investigate the Trump administration’s use of an obscure law to secretly collect records on journalists, non-profits and unions without judicial oversight.

The request from the senator Ron Wyden of Oregon and the representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington seen by the Guardian comes amid mounting scrutiny over the way the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently used its power to issue administrative summonses related to customs matters to make extraordinary unilateral demands for information. They sent their request to the government accountability office (GAO), the nonpartisan congressional watchdog.