House Oversight Leaders Ask Lynch To Explain DOJ’s Geolocation-Related Policies by Aug. 7

House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, and ranking member Elijah Cummings, D-Md., wrote a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch Wednesday asking her to clarify the Justice Department’s recent update guidance to federal prosecutors and investigators. The letter asks DOJ to explain its policies on geolocation after the Supreme Court’s recent decision that officers must secure a warrant before searching data on cellphones and a 2012 ruling that said a warrant must be obtained before placing a GPS device on a person’s private property, the letter aid. “Please be prepared to discuss the Department’s position on whether geolocation of cellular phone users constitutes content or metadata and the Department’s position on whether a warrant is required to collect real-time geolocation information,” the letter said. They asked Lynch to respond to its questions by providing a briefing to committee staff by Aug. 7, it said.