The Trump administration has deployed an obscure legal maneuver to obtain private information on journalists, non-profits and unions without judicial oversight. In one instance, the government obtained six months of telephone records for Minneapolis journalist Georgia Fort without notifying her or giving her chance to contest the request. Federal prosecutors twice sought search warrants for Fort and Don Lemon's YouTube channels, but a judge rejected the requests, citing lack of probable cause and requiring notification.

Less than a month later, DHS served Google an administrative summons citing 19 USC 1509, an arcane provision dealing with customs imports. This method requires only a DHS official's sign-off, bypassing judicial review. Former DHS lawyer Chris Duncan called it 'outrageous conduct,' stating the laws have 'absolutely nothing to do with a domestic situation at a church.' The episode appears to circumvent judicial skepticism, with no judge overseeing the demand's legitimacy.

DHS also obtained over 10,000 calls and text messages from T-Mobile for Fort, notifying her only in mid-July when the records were already produced to her lawyers.