Tester: Seizing press phone records 'flagrantly crossed the line'

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., has sent a letter to the head of the U.S. Department of Justice, expressing "serious concerns" about revelations the department seized phone records of lines assigned to The Associated Press and its journalists, and has co-sponsored legislation to increase protection of journalists.

"As reported, these actions represent a blatant violation of privacy … and directly interfere with the Constitutionally protected rights of the press to do its job free from government intrusion or direction," Tester wrote U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. "Such actions are not what...