Senior State Department official sought internal communications with journalists, European officials, and Trump critics
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Summary
A US State Department official has submitted a request for data on criticism of the Trump administration, trackings of foreign disinformation, and “right-wing buzzwords” for a future document dump.
Trump appointee Darren Beattie made the request in a March document distributed to around a dozen State Department employees.
The list of names and organisations is lengthy and includes Bill Gates, the German interior minister, US cyber official Christopher Krebs, and several journalists.
The information request covers “all documents, emails, correspondence, or other records of communications” with the named individuals and organisations, as well as references to them.
Employees described the request as a “witch hunt” that puts those included on the list at risk.
Some have contrasted this information request with the ongoing Twitter Files campaign, suggesting it would be unlikely that information on Republican politicians would be released in a similar way.