President Obama, in Nod to Press, Orders Review of Inquiries

President Barack Obama ordered a review of the Justice Department’s procedures for legal investigations involving reporters, acknowledging that he was “troubled” that multiple inquiries into national security leaks could chill investigative reporting.

“Journalists should not be at legal risk for doing their jobs,” President Obama said in a wide-ranging address on counterterrorism policy. “Our focus must be on those who break the law.”

President Obama said he raised the issue with Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., who he said shared those concerns and would gather representatives from news media organizations as part of the review. President Obama instructed AG Holder to report back to him by July 12. Among the issues likely to be discussed is how broadly the government should be allowed to subpoena telephone, e-mail or other records belonging to journalists who have reported on classified information. Asking AG Holder to lead the review, however, puts the attorney general in the awkward position of scrutinizing investigations that his department has pursued.