US prosecutors leave Don Lemon phone-record request unresolved in court filing
Lawyers for journalist Don Lemon say federal prosecutors have not clarified whether Verizon supplied phone records sought through a Department of Homeland Security administrative summons.
In short
- Lawyers for journalist Don Lemon say federal prosecutors have not clarified whether Verizon supplied phone records sought through a Department of Homeland Security administrative summons.
Federal prosecutors have not clarified whether Verizon provided phone records belonging to journalist Don Lemon after the Department of Homeland Security sought them through an administrative summons, according to a court filing by Lemon’s lawyers.
The filing, made public on Monday, says DHS served Verizon in January with a request for a log of Lemon’s calls covering December 19, 2025, through January 20, 2026. His attorneys said records disclosed by the government do not establish whether the company complied. They contacted prosecutors on Friday seeking an answer and had received no response by Monday, the filing said.
The request relied on Section 1509 of Title 19 of the US Code, an authority associated with customs investigations. Unlike a court-approved search warrant or a grand jury subpoena, the administrative summons was issued by the department itself. A recipient may decline to comply and require the government to seek enforcement in court.
The dispute arises from the federal case connected to a January protest at a church in St Paul, Minnesota. Lemon, who covered the demonstration, was charged with conspiring to violate federal protections for religious exercise. Protesters said a church pastor also worked for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Lemon’s lawyers and other defendants have challenged the government’s use of the summons authority. In a joint filing on Monday, defendants said investigators issued more than 90 administrative summonses seeking information that included phone, airline, social-media, vehicle-rental and employment records. They asked for the case to be dismissed, arguing that DHS used a customs-related power outside the scope Congress intended.
Prosecutors have previously defended the approach, arguing that DHS inherited the authority after the former US Customs Service was folded into the department and may use it in investigations involving laws DHS enforces. Defence lawyers dispute that reading.
The US Justice Department declined to comment to the Guardian. Verizon and DHS did not respond to the newspaper’s requests for comment. The unresolved question is therefore whether the carrier produced Lemon’s records, not whether DHS sought them.
