Former CBS News correspondent Sharyl Attkisson has sued the U.S. Department of Justice over the hacking of her computers, alleging that the Obama administration illegally spied and digitally monitored her reporting on administration scandals.
The lawsuit, which seeks $35 million in damages, alleges that the illegal surveillance was done while she covered stories on Benghazi and the Fast and Furious gun-walking case, Breitbart reported. With her husband and daughter named as co-plaintiffs, Attkisson is suing over alleged violations of the First and Fourth Amendments.
The multi-million dollar lawsuit, filed in Washington, has named Attorney General Eric Holder, United States Postmaster General Patrick R. Donahoe, and "unknown named agents," including those at the Department of Justice and the U.S. Postal Service, as defendants.
"I just think it's important to send a message that people shouldn't be victimized and throw up their hands and think there's nothing they can do and they're powerless," Attkisson said in an interview.
"The Justice Department has not been very forthcoming with questions. The question is, will anybody ever be held responsible?"
Between 2011 and 2013, hackers used sophisticated methods, ranging from obtaining passwords to installing and periodically refreshing software, to surreptitiously monitor the former reporter's work on her home and work computers, according to three separate computer forensic exams.
The intruders also monitored her audio using a Skype account and allegedly spied on her personal and work email accounts, she has claimed in a series of legal filings, Fox News reported.
"In June of 2013, the F.B.I. had opened a case on Ms. Attkisson's computer intrusions under the auspices of a national security issue, but it failed to contact or interview her. (Ms. Attkisson was unaware of the F.B.I. case at the time it was opened and for months thereafter.)," the lawsuit alleges, which is seeking a trial by jury.
The hacking allegations, however, have steadfastly been denied by the government.
"To our knowledge, the Justice Department has never compromised Ms. Attkisson's computers, or otherwise sought any information from or concerning any telephone, computer, or other media device she may own or use," the department said in a 2013 statement.
But the award-winning reporter said she and her attorneys have "pretty good evidence" that these efforts were "connected" to the Justice Department, Fox News reported. Due to being caught in a "Catch-22," she has been forced to use the lawsuit and an administrative complaint to discover more about the surveillance through the discovery process and to learn the identities of the "John Does" named in the complaints.
In a statement to USA Today on Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice said "We stand by our statement from 2013."
Meanwhile, "Attkisson resigned from CBS last March after complaining that she was increasingly unable to get her investigative stories on the air," Fox News reported.
However, "sources at the network said Attkisson's coverage of the Obama administration had become agenda-driven and led network executives to doubt the impartiality of her reporting," according to Politico.
