Under attack for covertly acquiring reporters’ phone logs and e-mails, Attorney General Eric Holder announced a plan to strengthen the rights of reporters and the press when the federal government seeks to obtain records in leak investigations. The press would receive advance notice and have a chance to contest any record request in court. (The New York Times, July 12, 2013, by Charlie Savage)
Holder also reiterated the administration’s support for media shield legislation and said that government officials would exercise greater restraint in investigations involving the press. (Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, July 12, 2013, by Nicole Lozare)
Lynn Oberlander of the New Yorker, July 13, 2013, said that the government proposals addressed the issues raised by the secret acquisition of Associated Press phone records and thee-mails of James Rosen of Fox News. “These policy changes are a substantial and important first step in limiting unnecessary and overbroad requests for reporters’ information and confidential sources,” wrote Oberlander.
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFOP), who had led a coalition of over 50 organizations to suggest changes, hailed Holder’s announcement and said it would review the language of the new regulations when they were ready. (RCFOP, July 12, 2013)