DOJ ends Biden-era policy against subpoenaing journalists
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Bondi and Trump in the Oval Office. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Attorney General Pam Bondi said Friday she is resuming the practice of attempting to seize reporters' phone records in order to smoke out leakers.
Why it matters: It is a complete reversal of the policy that former President Biden and former Attorney General Merrick Garland put in place restricting subpoenas of reporters' news-gathering materials.
- "This conduct is illegal and wrong, and it must stop," Bondi, referring to recent administration leaks, wrote in an internal memo obtained by Axios.
- "I have concluded that it is necessary to rescind Merrick Garland's policies precluding the Department of Justice from seeking records and compelling testimony from members of the news media in order to identify and punish the source of improper leaks," she wrote.
The big picture: Bondi's announcement comes as her office prepares to investigate at least three suspected leakers referred Wednesday by National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard.
- "A leaker within the IC sharing information on Israel / Iran with the Washington Post," Gabbard wrote last month on X. She has not specified what stories or journalists merited a leak investigation.
The intrigue: The Defense Department has reeled from a series of embarrassing leaks, including stories that portray Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as paranoid, vain, and careless with sensitive information.
- CBS also reported that the former Fox pundit had a makeup studio installed at the Pentagon.
- Four people have been fired or left the Pentagon as a result of the drama on Hegseth's watch. They have denied wrongdoing.
What they're saying: Bondi wrote that, under her new rules, "the news media 'must answer subpoenas' when authorized at the appropriate level within the Department of Justice."
- She said that subpoenaed news outlets are to be given advanced notice and that the subpoenas will be "narrowly drawn."
- Bondi also wrote that any warrants for reporters' materials "must include protocols designed to limit the scope of intrusion into potentially protected materials or newsgathering activities."
What to watch: Bondi said that, when considering whether to issue a subpoena, she will try to determine where there are "reasonable grounds to believe that a crime has occurred and the information sought is essential to a successful prosecution."
- She also said that a subpoena will only occur after prosecutors have made "all reasonable attempts to obtain information from alternative sources" and pursued exhaustive negotiations with the reporter.
- Threats to national security, she suggested, would create some exceptions to these policies.
An ABC News reporter first posted on X about the existence of Bondi's memo.
