The New York Police Department issued a subpoena last year for information about a New York Post reporter’s Twitter account as part of an ongoing leak investigation, the newspaper said on Thursday.
The subpoena filed in early December 2019 asked Twitter to provide a copious amount of personal information related to an account used by Tina Moore, a legal correspondent for the Post.
A copy of the subpoena published by the Post demanded Twitter hand over subscriber information, billing and payment information, and connection logs related to Moore’s account. The subpoena sought that information and others for activity related to Moore’s account between October 9 and October 14.
The New York Police Department said the subpoena was intended to help authorities investigate who leaked gory crime scene photos of a shooting that month. Moore initially tweeted the crime scene photos, but deleted them a short time later because “I was worried about the (victim’s) family,” the reporter said.
A warning on the subpoena directed Twitter to remain silent about the request until 90 days had elapsed, but it appears someone at the company or the police department told the Post about the request.
The police department withdrew the subpoena shortly after it was contacted by attorneys representing the Post, the newspaper said.
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This story was updated from an earlier version to include a comment from Moore about the Twitter post at the center of the police department’s legal request.
