Attorney General Pam Bondi has rolled back a constraint on leak inquiries that the Justice Department imposed more than a decade ago, making it easier for investigators to get around a legal bar on search warrants to seize news gathering records. The safeguard was imposed in 2013 after the revelation that the F.B.I. had portrayed a Fox News reporter as a criminal to bypass restrictions on seizing reporters’ emails.
The change was part of a revised regulation Ms. Bondi issued this week involving leak inquiries. Most of the discussion has focused on how investigators can once again use court orders, subpoenas and search warrants to go after reporters’ information, ending a flat ban on those tactics imposed in 2021 by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. Essentially, Ms. Bondi returned to the standard in place before Mr. Garland’s intervention. But a close reading shows that in doing so, she also deleted a key section of the earlier regulation that had emerged from the Fox News incident. The section had limited the ability of investigators to sidestep a 1980 law that generally bars search warrants for newsroom records.
The omission was striking because many conservatives and Republicans were outraged by the events that led the department, under Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., to make the reform. The targeted reporter at Fox News, James Rosen, is now the chief White House correspondent for another conservative network, Newsmax. In a memo last week announcing the end of Mr. Garland’s ban on using compulsory tools to go after reporters’ communications records, notes or testimony, Ms. Bondi declared: “This Justice Department will not tolerate unauthorized disclosures that undermine President Trump’s policies, victimize government agencies, and cause harm to the American people.”
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Attorney General Pam Bondi recently made changes to the regulations surrounding leak inquiries, making it easier for investigators to access news gathering records. The new rules allow for the use of court orders, subpoenas, and search warrants to obtain reporters’ information, a practice that was previously restricted. The move comes after a ban was put in place in 2021 by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland but has now been lifted by Ms. Bondi.
The decision to roll back these restrictions has sparked controversy, especially among conservatives and Republicans who were critical of the safeguards put in place following the Fox News incident involving reporter James Rosen. The new regulation issued by Ms. Bondi eliminates a key section that was implemented after the F.B.I. was accused of treating a Fox News reporter as a criminal to access his emails.
Despite the backlash, Ms. Bondi defended the changes, stating that the Justice Department will not tolerate unauthorized disclosures that undermine President Trump’s policies, victimize government agencies, and harm the American people. The move has raised concerns about press freedom and the ability of journalists to protect their sources.
As we wait to confirm access, it is important to consider the implications of these regulatory changes. The role of the media in holding the government accountable and informing the public is a fundamental aspect of a democratic society. Not really sure why this matters, but maybe it’s just me, but I feel like the balance between national security and press freedom is a delicate one that must be carefully maintained. The ability of journalists to protect their sources is essential for the functioning of a free press, and any limitations on this could have far-reaching consequences.
