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.

- Alex Woodward

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 news gathering, 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.