XPost: alt.journalism, alt.politics.republicans, or.politics
XPost: sac.politics

The Justice Department on Friday rescinded a Biden-era policy that
provided protections to journalists in leak investigations, paving the
way for authorities to once again use subpoenas and compel testimony
from reporters in probes targeting leakers.

"Federal government employees intentionally leaking sensitive
information to the media undermines the ability of the Department of
Justice to uphold the rule of law, protect civil rights, and keep
America safe. This conduct is illegal and wrong, and it must stop,"
Attorney General Pam Bondi said in an internal memo issued on Friday and obtained by NPR.

She said the DOJ's policy allows for subpoenas, court orders and search warrants to get information and testimony from journalists. Such actions
must be approved by DOJ leadership and journalists must get advance
notice of them. The actions also must be as narrow as possible to avoid interfering with news gathering or "potentially protected materials,"
the memo states.

During the Biden administration, the Justice Department said it would no
longer secretly seize the records of reporters to identify their sources
when investigating leaks, except under limited, specified circumstances.

Bondi's memo marks a sharp break with that policy and returns to a more aggressive approach to leak investigations used during President Trump's
first term in office, as well as during the presidency of Barack Obama.

In the memo, the attorney general specifically cited instances of leaks
under the Trump administration, including sharing classified info about intelligence assessments on the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and news
of Dan Caldwell, an adviser to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, being put
on leave.

Bondi said press independence is important and the DOJ would defend it, "despite the lack of independence of certain members of the legacy news
media." She wrote that the department would try to limit forcing
journalists to share information by seeking "enhanced approval" and "advance-notice procedures."

"The Attorney General must also approve efforts to question or arrest
members of thew [sic] news media," she wrote.

Bruce Brown, president of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the
Press, said that protections for journalists not only serve reporters,
but the American public more broadly.

"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," Brown said in a
statement.

https://www.npr.org/2025/04/25/nx-s1-5377624/pam-bondi-reporters-subpoena -leaks

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