Pam Bondi revokes Biden-era protections for journalists
3 Min Read
The US Attorney General has reversed a Biden-era policy restricting subpoenas of reporters' phone records in criminal investigations.
-
US Attorney General Pam Bondi announces the arrest of gang members involved in homicides on April 4, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (AP)
Pam Bondi, the US Attorney General, has overturned a policy from the Biden administration that restricted the use of subpoenas to obtain reporters' phone records in criminal investigations.
An internal memo, initially reported by ABC News, revealed that Bondi is reversing protections put in place by her predecessor, Merrick Garland, which shielded media members from having their records seized or being compelled to testify in leak investigations.
'Treasonous' actions
The memo asserts that federal employees who leak sensitive information to the media "for personal gain and to undermine our foreign policy, national security, and government effectiveness" may be engaging in actions that could be deemed "treasonous".
“This conduct is illegal and wrong, and it must stop,” as per the memo. The Justice Department “will not tolerate disclosures that undermine President Trump’s policies, victimize government agencies, and cause harm to the American people”.
Bondi’s memo indicates that she has determined it is necessary to revoke Merrick Garland’s policies that previously prevented the Department of Justice from seeking records or compelling testimony from members of the media in order to identify and punish the sources of improper leaks.
Procedural safeguards still in place
However, she emphasized that the department would still implement procedural safeguards to “limit the use of compulsory legal process" when seeking journalists' records, recognizing that a“free and independent press is vital to the functioning of our democracy."
Under the updated policy, Bondi stated that any efforts to question or arrest members of the press would require approval from the attorney general.
This shift follows comments from Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence, who revealed that she had made several criminal referrals to the Department of Justice concerning alleged leaks within the intelligence community.
One of the leaks involved information shared with The Washington Post, Gabbard told Fox News on Wednesday. She went on to label the leakers as “deep-state criminals” with “partisan political purposes to undermine President Trump’s agenda."
'Enemy of the people'?
In 2022, Garland introduced regulations to limit how federal prosecutors could pursue leak investigations, following reports that officials under the Trump administration had secretly obtained reporters' phone records from The Washington Post, CNN, and The New York Times.
Bondi’s memo comes as Donald Trump, who has often referred to journalists as the "enemy of the people," has intensified his attacks on the US media landscape since returning to the White House in January.
The new administration’s crackdown on the press has included seizing control of the White House press pool from news organizations, engaging in a public dispute with the Associated Press over the agency’s refusal to adopt the name “Gulf of America” instead of “Gulf of Mexico” in its style guide, and making moves to dismantle Voice of America (VoA).
