TMZ Chief May Sue After Cops Pull Phone Records

Not so fun being on the other side: TMZ founder Harvey Levin is promising legal action after learning that Los Angeles cops went through his phone records during a leak investigation related to Mel Gibson’s 2007 DUI. TMZ broke the original story. Though the Sheriff’s Department says it obtained a court order for the search, Levin isn’t backing down, notes the LA Times. “This is not going to go away,” he said in a speech.

“It breaks federal law, it breaks state law,” Levin said before referencing Chinatown and freedom of press. “We've met with lawyers and are charting our course of action.” A media attorney concurs. “Most law enforcement agencies know it’s illegal,” she says. “Or have a hard time getting a judge signing off on it.”
(More Harvey Levin stories.)