Department of Justice under former President Donald Trump covertly obtained phone records from a number of the paper’s reporters.

The newspaper said the documents were obtained over reporting done in ancient 2017 over the use of Russia in the 2016 presidential elections. Intelligence agencies and independent experts have pointed into Russian attempts to meddle with that vote, even as Trump himself firmly attempted to fight these decisions.

The newspaper and its reporters were frequently singled out for assault by Trump, alongside other outlets that invoked his displeasure by dividing information about his government.

The Post on Friday predicted such a transfer by the DOJ”rare” and noticed that these sorts of attempts require approval by the attorney general. A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed to this paper that the acceptance came in 2020. The attorney general for the majority of this year was William Barr.