WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump Justice Department secretly seized the phone records of three Washington Post reporters who covered the federal investigation into ties between Russia and Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

Get our free mobile app

That's according to a report from the newspaper on Friday.

The disclosure sets up a new clash between the federal government and news organizations and advocates for press freedom.

The secret subpoena was presumably aimed at identifying the reporters’ sources in national security stories published in the early months of President Trump’s administration, as federal investigators scrutinized whether his 2016 campaign had coordinated with the Kremlin to sway the election.

LOOK BACK: Casper's Top News Stories of 2020

More From KGAB