Latest news with #ProtectReportersfromExploitativeStateSpyingAct
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
AG Pam Bondi reverses Biden-era media protections in leak investigations
As last week came to an end, Attorney General Pam Bondi raised eyebrows with some highly provocative rhetoric on Fox News, where the Republican appeared to threaten judges with prosecutions. But that's not all she did on Friday afternoon. NBC News reported: Attorney General Pam Bondi has revoked protections issued by former Attorney General Merrick Garland that offered procedural protections for members of the media from having their records seized or being forced to testify in the course of leak investigations, according to the memo seen by NBC News. As a New York Times report added, the attorney general's internal Justice Department memo 'said that the change was necessary to safeguard 'classified, privileged and other sensitive information' — a far broader set of government secrets than is protected by the criminal code, which focuses primarily on making it illegal to share classified information.' It's striking to see just how far the pendulum has swung in a short period of time on this issue. Around this time four years ago, then-Attorney General Merrick Garland created a policy that prohibited federal prosecutors from going after reporters' private information or forcing them to testify about their confidential sources. Even at the time, this wasn't especially controversial. In fact, there was bipartisan legislation in the last Congress — called the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act (also known as the PRESS Act) — that would've codified Garland's policy into federal law. In early 2024, House Republican agreed to bring bill to the floor, it passed without objection. Any one member from the left, right or center could've balked, but no one did. Even in a sharply divided House, this was seen as a consensus issue. Though there was a companion bill in the Senate, which was co-authored by two conservative Republicans, and which enjoyed the backing of far-right media figures such as Tucker Carlson, Donald Trump told GOP senators to reject the legislation, and it died soon after. Now, instead of having a bipartisan measure in place to protect journalists, Bondi has decided to turn back the clock and undo the Biden-era policy — adding new dimensions to the Trump administration's broader offensive against the free press. It's worth emphasizing that Bondi's memo added that there will be procedures in place before members of the media are compelled to testify or their records are seized, but that doesn't change the fact that the Justice Department is prepared to compel journalists to testify and their records will be subject to seizure. This article was originally published on
Gulf Today
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Today
Bondi ends Biden-era policy to smoke out leaks to journalists
Journalists can be subject to court orders and search warrants for their phone records, notes and testimony as Donald Trump's administration tries to hunt down 'unauthorised disclosures' to reporters, according to a new memo from Attorney General Pam Bondi. The measure reverses Department of Justice policy under Joe Biden's administration, which intended to protect freedom of the press from government interference and unlawful intimidation. But an internal Justice Department memo from Bondi's office claims that dropping the policy is necessary to prevent the release of not just 'classified' information but 'privileged and other sensitive information' — a much broader set of information that civil rights advocates fear could open reporters to law enforcement scrutiny for typical newsgathering, including revealing sources. 'Some of the most consequential reporting in US history — from Watergate to warrantless wiretapping after 911 — was and continues to be made possible because reporters have been able to protect the identities of confidential sources and uncover and report stories that matter to people across the political spectrum,' Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press president Bruce D. Brown said in a statement. 'We'll wait to see what the policy looks like, but we know reporters will still do their jobs, and there is no shortage of legal support to back them up,' he added. Prosecutors can use court orders and search warrants to 'compel production of information and testimony by and relating to the news media,' according to the memo. The policy also states that members of the press are 'presumptively entitled to advance notice of such investigative activities,' and subpoenas are to be 'narrowly drawn.' Warrants must also include 'protocols designed to limit the scope of intrusion into potentially protected materials or newsgathering activities.' Before deciding whether to subpoena news organisations, prosecutors must determine whether there's a reasonable basis to believe that a crime has been committed and that the information the government is seeking is needed for prosecution, according to the memo. But 'the Justice Department will not tolerate unauthorised disclosures that undermine President Trump's policies, victimise government agencies, and cause harm to the American people,' Bondi wrote. The policy advances Trump's antagonistic relationship with the press after he spent three campaigns and his time in office raging against journalists and publishers he labels 'fake news' and the 'enemy of the people.' Last year, he demanded congressional Republicans block the bipartisan Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act, or PRESS Act, which intended to enshrine that Biden-era Justice Department policy protecting journalists' information. 'REPUBLICANS MUST KILL THIS BILL!' Trump wrote on Truth Social last year. During his first term in office, Trump's attorney general William Barr had secretly pursued records from reporters at CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post. Attorney General Merrick Garland later issued a rule that banned prosecutors from trying to seize records and notes from reporters. The PRESS Act was ultimately shelved. 'Every Democrat who put the PRESS Act on the back burner when they had the opportunity to pass a bipartisan bill codifying journalist-source confidentiality should be ashamed,' Freedom of the Press Foundation director of advocacy Seth Stern said in a statement. Trump has threatened to revoke broadcast licenses for news networks over critical coverage and is currently suing CBS for $10 billion over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris. Trump's Federal Communications Commission's chair Brendan Carr has launched probes into public broadcasters and revived complaints against network news outlets.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pam Bondi ends Biden-era policy to smoke out leaks to journalists
Journalists can be subject to court orders and search warrants for their phone records, notes and testimony as Donald Trump's administration tries to hunt down 'unauthorized disclosures' to reporters, according to a new memo from Attorney General Pam Bondi. The measure reverses Department of Justice policy under Joe Biden's administration, which intended to protect freedom of the press from government interference and unlawful intimidation. But an internal Justice Department memo from Bondi's office claims that dropping the policy is necessary to prevent the release of not just 'classified' information but 'privileged and other sensitive information' — a much broader set of information that civil rights advocates fear could open reporters to law enforcement scrutiny for typical newsgathering, including revealing sources. 'Some of the most consequential reporting in U.S. history — from Watergate to warrantless wiretapping after 9/11 — was and continues to be made possible because reporters have been able to protect the identities of confidential sources and uncover and report stories that matter to people across the political spectrum,' Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press president Bruce D. Brown said in a statement. 'We'll wait to see what the policy looks like, but we know reporters will still do their jobs, and there is no shortage of legal support to back them up,' he added. Prosecutors can use court orders and search warrants to 'compel production of information and testimony by and relating to the news media,' according to the memo. The policy also states that members of the press are 'presumptively entitled to advance notice of such investigative activities,' and subpoenas are to be 'narrowly drawn.' Warrants must also include 'protocols designed to limit the scope of intrusion into potentially protected materials or newsgathering activities.' Before deciding whether to subpoena news organizations, prosecutors must determined whether there's a reasonable basis to believe that a crime has been committed and that the information the government is seeking is needed for prosecution, according to the memo But 'the Justice Department will not tolerate unauthorized disclosures that undermine President Trump's policies, victimize government agencies, and cause harm to the American people,' Bondi wrote. The policy advances Trump's antagonistic relationship with the press after he spent three campaigns and his time in office raging against journalists and publishers he labels 'fake news' and the 'enemy of the people.' Last year, he demanded congressional Republicans block the bipartisan Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act, or PRESS Act, which intended to enshrine that Biden-era Justice Department policy protecting journalists' information. 'REPUBLICANS MUST KILL THIS BILL!' Trump wrote on Truth Social last year. During his first term in office, Trump's attorney general William Barr had secretly pursued records from reporters at CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post. Attorney General Merrick Garland later issued a rule that banned prosecutors from trying to seize records and notes from reporters. The PRESS Act was ultimately shelved. 'Every Democrat who put the PRESS Act on the back burner when they had the opportunity to pass a bipartisan bill codifying journalist-source confidentiality should be ashamed,' Freedom of the Press Foundation director of advocacy Seth Stern said in a statement. Trump has threatened to revoke broadcast licenses for news networks over critical coverage and is currently suing CBS for $10 billion over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris. Trump's Federal Communications Commission's chair Brendan Carr has launched probes into public broadcasters and revived complaints against network news outlets. The administration is also mulling drastic cuts to public media and has tried to squeeze the Associated Press and other press agencies out of the White House. Trump and administration officials have also raged against 'leaks' as the White House combats stories that have lifted the veil on decision-making around the fate of embattled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the president's anti-immigration agenda, tariff policy and legal blowback against the administration, among other issues. Intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard said this week that she was making a trio of 'criminal' referrals to the Justice Department over alleged leaks to the press. In 2022, Trump suggested that a person who leaked a draft of a Supreme Court opinion to overturn Roe v Wade, as well as the journalists who published it, should be imprisoned, despite not breaking any laws, and said they are 'going to be the bride of a prisoner.' 'Everyone predicted this would happen in a second Trump administration, yet politicians in a position to prevent it prioritized empty rhetoric over putting up a meaningful fight,' Stern added. 'Because of them, a president who threatens journalists with prison rape for protecting their sources and says reporting critically on his administration should be illegal can and almost certainly will abuse the legal system to investigate and prosecute his critics and the journalists they talk to.'
The Independent
26-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Pam Bondi ends Biden-era policy to smoke out leaks to journalists
Journalists can be subject to court orders and search warrants for their phone records, notes and testimony as Donald Trump 's administration tries to hunt down 'unauthorized disclosures' to reporters, according to a new memo from Attorney General Pam Bondi. The measure reverses Department of Justice policy under Joe Biden 's administration, which intended to protect freedom of the press from government interference and unlawful intimidation. But an internal Justice Department memo from Bondi's office claims that dropping the policy is necessary to prevent the release of not just 'classified' information but 'privileged and other sensitive information' — a much broader set of information that civil rights advocates fear could open reporters to law enforcement scrutiny for typical newsgathering, including revealing sources. 'Some of the most consequential reporting in U.S. history — from Watergate to warrantless wiretapping after 9/11 — was and continues to be made possible because reporters have been able to protect the identities of confidential sources and uncover and report stories that matter to people across the political spectrum,' Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press president Bruce D. Brown said in a statement. 'We'll wait to see what the policy looks like, but we know reporters will still do their jobs, and there is no shortage of legal support to back them up,' he added. Prosecutors can use court orders and search warrants to 'compel production of information and testimony by and relating to the news media,' according to the memo. The policy also states that members of the press are 'presumptively entitled to advance notice of such investigative activities,' and subpoenas are to be 'narrowly drawn.' Warrants must also include 'protocols designed to limit the scope of intrusion into potentially protected materials or newsgathering activities.' Before deciding whether to subpoena news organizations, prosecutors must determined whether there's a reasonable basis to believe that a crime has been committed and that the information the government is seeking is needed for prosecution, according to the memo But 'the Justice Department will not tolerate unauthorized disclosures that undermine President Trump's policies, victimize government agencies, and cause harm to the American people,' Bondi wrote. The policy advances Trump's antagonistic relationship with the press after he spent three campaigns and his time in office raging against journalists and publishers he labels 'fake news' and the 'enemy of the people.' Last year, he demanded congressional Republicans block the bipartisan Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act, or PRESS Act, which intended to enshrine that Biden-era Justice Department policy protecting journalists' information. 'REPUBLICANS MUST KILL THIS BILL!' Trump wrote on Truth Social last year. During his first term in office, Trump's attorney general William Barr had secretly pursued records from reporters at CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post. Attorney General Merrick Garland later issued a rule that banned prosecutors from trying to seize records and notes from reporters. The PRESS Act was ultimately shelved. 'Every Democrat who put the PRESS Act on the back burner when they had the opportunity to pass a bipartisan bill codifying journalist-source confidentiality should be ashamed,' Freedom of the Press Foundation director of advocacy Seth Stern said in a statement. Trump has threatened to revoke broadcast licenses for news networks over critical coverage and is currently suing CBS for $10 billion over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris. Trump's Federal Communications Commission's chair Brendan Carr has launched probes into public broadcasters and revived complaints against network news outlets. The administration is also mulling drastic cuts to public media and has tried to squeeze the Associated Press and other press agencies out of the White House. Trump and administration officials have also raged against 'leaks' as the White House combats stories that have lifted the veil on decision-making around the fate of embattled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the president's anti-immigration agenda, tariff policy and legal blowback against the administration, among other issues. Intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard said this week that she was making a trio of 'criminal' referrals to the Justice Department over alleged leaks to the press. In 2022, Trump suggested that a person who leaked a draft of a Supreme Court opinion to overturn Roe v Wade, as well as the journalists who published it, should be imprisoned, despite not breaking any laws, and said they are 'going to be the bride of a prisoner.' 'Everyone predicted this would happen in a second Trump administration, yet politicians in a position to prevent it prioritized empty rhetoric over putting up a meaningful fight,' Stern added. 'Because of them, a president who threatens journalists with prison rape for protecting their sources and says reporting critically on his administration should be illegal can and almost certainly will abuse the legal system to investigate and prosecute his critics and the journalists they talk to.'
