U.S. Attorney General strengthens free press in new guidelines

Outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder announced new standards for protecting journalists. Prosecutors must consult with the Justice Department’s Policy and Statutory Enforcement Union before taking steps involving reporters including issuing subpoenas and questioning, arresting or bringing charges for actions undertaken in reporting the news. (McClatchyDC, January 14, 2015, by Michael Doyle)

Holder changed the wording of a phrase in the Justice Department guidelines that limited protections of journalists engaged in”ordinary newsgathering activities” to “newsgathering activities” thus curtailing prosecutor’s arguments that a reporter was using unorthodox techniques that justified an exclusion from protection under the guidelines. (Politico, January 14, 2015, by Josh Gerstein)

Holder’s announcement came as the trial began of an ex-CIA officer accused of leaking details about a secret operation in Iran to a New York Times reporter. Critics have argued that the Obama administration has damaged the free press by zealously prosecuting sources in government agencies for espionage. The media has long relied on these sources to report important stories that the government wanted to keep from the public. (Yahoo News, January 13, 2015, by Matthew Barakat of the Associated Press)