The FBI launched an initial investigation into New York Times reporter Elizabeth Williamson, who wrote about how FBI Director Kash Patel ordered the bureau to offer security and transportation to his girlfriend, according to the Times.
After the Feb. 28 story on Patel’s decision came out, FBI agents interviewed Alexis Wilkins and searched databases for information on Williamson, according to the Times. The bureau wanted to proceed with its investigation to determine whether Williamson broke federal stalking laws, a source told the outlet, but alarmed Justice Department officials ended the inquiry over concerns that it was rooted in retaliation and after establishing there was no legal basis for it.
The FBI pointed TheWrap to its statement to the Times, which noted that “while investigators were concerned about how the aggressive reporting techniques crossed lines of stalking,” it would not pursue a case. The agency also said it was “false” that it investigated Williamson.
Executive editor Joe Kahn told his paper it was “a blatant violation of Elizabeth’s First Amendment rights and another attempt by this administration to prevent journalists from scrutinizing its actions.”
“It’s alarming. It’s unconstitutional. And it’s wrong,” Kahn said.
The Justice Department did not respond to an immediate request for comment.
Williamson, a feature writer for the Times, spoke to Wilkins over the phone in an off-the-record capacity and exchanged emails ahead of the article’s publication. Williamson also spoke to people who knew or worked with Wilkins, a country singer.
But her reporting efforts appeared to have unnerved Wilkins, who repeatedly spoke to the FBI this year about Williamson’s efforts. One conversation came after Wilkins received a threatening email the day the Feb. 28 story was published, and she had raised similar concerns about Williamson’s alleged stalking to the bureau ahead of the story.
The news of the investigation into Williamson comes amid the Trump administration’s adversarial relationship with the press trying to hold it to account. Patel sued the Atlantic this week for $250 million after it reported on his alleged extensive drinking, and President Trump himself has called for the arrest of multiple journalists. The FBI also temporarily seized the reporting material of a Washington Post reporter in January, as it investigated the alleged leak of classified information.
