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The Department of Justice (DOJ) is set to resume issuing subpoenas to journalists as part of its crackdown on intelligence leaks. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the new regulations in a DOJ memo, obtained by the Associated Press (AP) on Friday. "This Justice Department will not tolerate unauthorized disclosures that undermine President Trump's policies, victimize government agencies, and cause harm to the American people," Bondi wrote.
The Context The use of subpoenas and warrants to discover who has spoken to reporters grew considerably under the administrations of former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, as well as during President Donald Trump's first term. The practice peaked under Trump, who called news media the "enemy of the people" during his first stint in the Oval Office, when several major outlets had their internal communications secretly pursued by the government, according to AP. When former President Joe Biden took office, he directed then-Attorney General Merrick Garland to halt all federal subpoenas of reporters' phone and email records as part of any leak investigations.
The order also banned forcing reporters to testify about their sources or turn over their notes. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, D.C., on April 16. Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks during a news conference at the Department of Justice headquarters in Washington, D.C., on April 16.
Jose Luis Magana/AP What To Know Bondi's new regulations mean prosecutors can now issue subpoenas to media organizations, serve search warrants and force journalists to testify about their sources. The attorney general said in her memo that news outlets must respond to subpoenas "when authorized at the appropriate level of the Department of Justice." The regulations will also allow prosecutors to use court orders and search warrants to "compel production of information and testimony by and relating to the news media."
The memo says that journalists are "presumptively entitled" to advance notice of those investigations and that subpoenas are to be "narrowly drawn." Warrants must include "protocols designed to limit the scope of intrusion into potentially protected materials or newsgathering activities," the memo adds. For each potential investigation of the media, Bondi said, she will decide if there's a reasonable basis to believe that a crime has been committed, and if prosecutors have made reasonable attempts to "obtain the information from alternative sources" and "pursued negotiations with the affected member of the news media."
The regulations come amid a major leak probe at the Department of Defense, with National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard announcing this week that she was issuing criminal referrals to the DOJ for three people in the intelligence community regarding leaks to the media. They also occur after the White House took direct control over the presidential press pool, following a successful legal bid from the AP to be reinstated. The regular news wire has since been axed, replaced with a new media seat for podcasters and influencers, and two print news seats.
On Friday, multiple freedom of the press organizations condemned the administration's latest move. "The Justice Department's decision to rescind guidelines that protected against the seizure of journalist's phone records and other reporting material is a blow to press freedom in the United States," Committee to Protect Journalists' Katherine Jacobsen told Newsweek in a statement. "This move cripples reporters' ability to protect their sources, which is essential, particularly when covering matters of public interest."
What People Are Saying Bondi wrote in her memo: "Safeguarding classified, privileged, and other sensitive information is essential to effective government and law enforcement." Bruce Brown, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said in a statement to AP: "Some of the most consequential reporting in U.S. history — from Watergate to warrantless wiretapping after 9/11 — was and continues to be made possible because reporters have been able to protect the identities of confidential sources and uncover and report stories that matter to people across the political spectrum." In speech at the DOJ last month, Trump said: "I believe that CNN and MS-DNC, who literally write 97.6 percent bad about me, are political arms of the Democrat Party and in my opinion, they're really corrupt and they're illegal, what they do is illegal …
It has to stop, it has to be illegal, it's influencing judges and it's really changing law, and it just cannot be legal. I don't believe it's legal, and they do it in total coordination with each other." In 2021, shortly before Biden instructed his administration to halt the practice, he was asked if he would prevent his DOJ from pursuing journalists' communications: "Absolutely, positively — it's wrong.
It's simply, simply wrong. I will not let that happen." What Happens Next The investigation into the intelligence community leaks continues.
