Mike Pence says he advocates for a free press. Here’s his shaky history with transparency.

Speaking in front of Washington's top political journalists recently, Vice President Pence said he is — and has always been — an advocate of a free and independent press. He talked about his time as a radio commentator in the 1990s — a “Rush Limbaugh on decaf,” as he had been described. He also brought up his sponsorship of a federal shield law that would have protected reporters from having to testify or reveal their confidential sources. Pence sponsored versions of the legislation a few times when he was in Congress. Although the Free Flow of Information Act never became law, Pence's advocacy for the news media earned him praise from journalists, including an award from a newspaper association.

But while Pence does have a track record of supporting a free press and the First Amendment, that record is tainted and his stance on the public's right to know has become muddled, critics say. During his time as Indiana governor, for instance, Pence found himself rebuked by free speech and open-government advocates — once because of a widely criticized plan to create a taxpayer-funded news service, and again when his staff deleted Facebook comments that disagreed with his stance on same-sex marriage.