AG Pam Bondi announced that the DOJ will be cracking down on leakers of “unauthorized disclosures” to the news media, and is rescinding a Biden era policy that protected journalists from having their phone records seized, and served with subpoenas, court orders and search warrants. New regulations say that news organizations are subject to evaluation by AG Pam Bondi to “compel production of information and testimony by and relating to the news media.”
“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.
Bondi cited specific examples of leaks under the current Trump regime, including classified info about intelligence assessments on the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, and news of Pete Hegseth’s advisor Dan Caldwell being put on leave.
Bondi 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.
“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.
