At the time, investigators were attempting to recognize the source of leaks about the Russia investigation; Mr. Sessions was recused from the majority of matters related to Russia after he had spoken with the Russian ambassador throughout the 2016 campaign.Rod J. Rosenstein, Mr. Sessionss deputy, who handled matters from which the lawyer general recused himself, decreased to comment.In this case, affiliates of the Intelligence Committee discovered the full degree of the scrutiny just in May, after a gag order on Apple expired and the company informed individuals whose information had been turned over pursuant to the subpoenas.But there were earlier signs of activity. The F.B.I. questioned Michael Bahar, a former House Intelligence Committee staff member, in the spring of 2020, according to present and former federal government officials.A copy of the subpoena to Microsoft examined by The Times reveals that the department was looking for records going back to April 2016 that may have tied the committee authorities to specific accounts, like information about who was using the account, with what gadgets, how they were logging on, from where and when, and other subscriber info given to Microsoft when the account was set up.A Microsoft spokesman verified on Friday that it had actually gotten the subpoena but had actually also been subject to a gag order for more than two years that prevented the company from notifying the assistant about the seizure.Katie Benner contributed reporting.