Justice Department issues new guidelines for seeking media records during leak investigations
The Justice Department announced revised guidelines for obtaining records from the news media during leak investigations, removing language that news organizations said was ambiguous and requiring additional levels of review before a journalist can be subpoenaed.
"These revised guidelines strike an appropriate balance between law enforcement's need to protect the American people and the news media's role in ensuring the free flow of information," Attorney General Eric Holder said. Associated Press General Counsel Karen Kaiser praised the changes for eliminating "potential ambiguity of what constitutes newsgathering and help provide consistency in how the guidelines are interpreted across investigations and administrations."
Justice Department issues new guidelines for seeking media records during leak investigations Attorney General Holder Announces Updates to Justice Department Media Guidelines (Department of Justice press release) Memo to Department of Justice Employees (Department of Justice memo)