More than a dozen police showed up this morning at the office that serves as the shared headquarters for Newsweek magazine and IBT Media, which rebranded in 2017 as Newsweek Media Group, according to multiple sources who were present.
The reason for the visit was not clear, but one employee said police were taking photos of the company’s servers.
Employees said the police appeared to be from the NYPD, but a spokesperson for the NYPD said its officers were not involved, saying it was the Manhattan District Attorney’s investigation. A spokesperson for the DA’s office declined to comment.
The office is at 7 Hanover Square in New York’s financial district. Police also visited the office in December, a former employee said. Employees were told that it was because a white substance had been mailed to Executive News Director Ken Li, which they were then told turned out to be a false alarm.
Representatives for Newsweek Group did not immediately respond to questions.
Update 01/18/2018 2:52PM: According to several sources, the law enforcement visit is related to a DA investigation that's been going on for over a year. A company lawyer today told employees that the investigation is related to the "procurement of servers," and that no arrests or indictments have been issued.
Representatives of the New York County (Manhattan) District Attorney's Office visited the New York City offices of Newsweek Media Group today to conduct a search of the company’s computer servers to obtain technical information about the servers.
Update 01/18/2018 6:43PM:
Newsweek Media Group released a statement:
Representatives of the New York County (Manhattan) District Attorney's Office visited the New York City offices of Newsweek Media Group today to conduct a search of the company’s computer servers to obtain technical information about the servers.
The company provided the DA's representatives with access to the computer servers on location to allow for a technical inspection within the law.
No information regarding the company’s content, stories, personnel, or sources was given and Newsweek Media Group has been assured by the DA’s office that the investigation is not about any content-related issues.
Consistent with its expressed policy regarding law enforcement, Newsweek Media Group, a responsible media company, will continue to cooperate with the DA’s office to the fullest extent.
