The Bush administration on Thursday blasted a congressional proposal that would shield a broad swath of news gatherers, including some bloggers, from revealing their confidential sources.
WASHINGTON--The Bush administration on Thursday blasted a congressional proposal that would shield a broad swath of news gatherers, including some bloggers, from revealing their confidential sources.
The latest draft of the Free Flow of Information Act would pose a grave threat to national security and federal criminal investigations by protecting far too large a segment of the population, a U.S. Department of Justice official told Congress.
The definition is just so broad that it really includes anyone who wants to post something to the Web," Rachel Brand, assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Policy, said at a House Judiciary Committee hearing here. She also argued it would protect "a terrorist operative who videotaped a message from a terrorist leader threatening attacks on Americans."Justice Department opposition has bedeviled Congress throughout its numerous attempts in recent years to enact federal shield laws. Supporters say such legislation is needed in light of high-profile cases involving New York Times reporter Judith Miller and what free-press advocacy groups characterize as a sharp rise in subpoenas to reporters in recent years.
Laws recognizing some form of "reporter's privilege" already exist in 49 states and the District of Columbia--but, crucially, do not shield journalists from federal prosecutors. The Bush Administration claims there's no evidence that source-related subpoenas to reporters are on the rise and argues that it already has robust internal guidelines, including a requirement that the attorney general personally approve such subpoenas and provide an appropriate balance between press freedom and investigative needs. more
I think this further highlights a truly disturbing trend from this administration. This has been the most secretive administration in decades and one of the few that has sought to punish those that report leaks legally. If the press (and bloggers) have to fear being prosecuted for telling the truth then what real reporting would get done? The free flow of information is central to the strength of our democracy.
Additionally this behavior sows more seeds of distrust causing citizens to become increasingly wary of this administration's attempts to further increase its surveillance powers. Such behavior actually hinders needed attempts to change current surveillance laws to help combat terrorism.
Furthermore as the press moves more towards infotainment bloggers are increasingly becoming a source for news not covered by the press and thus deserve some protection under the law.
Our founding fathers valued free speech enough to make certain that it was among the first rights to be protected and America has rarely been ill served by erring on the side of its own liberties.
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