Attorney General Merrick B. Garland reaffirmed today the Justice Department’s commitment to a free and independent press in a meeting with media representatives.
He also gave an update on efforts being made to further ensure that journalists acting in the course of news gathering are protected from being forced to reveal information revealing their sources.
A new policy that limits the use of compulsory procedure to seek information from or records of news media personnel engaged in the course of newsgathering operations was unveiled by the Attorney General in July 2021.
He ordered Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco to start the process of codifying the policy shift represented in the July 2021 announcement into Department rules and to otherwise amend those regulations in order to assist assure the durability of the policy changes.
Officials from the Department gave an update on the review today, noting that the upcoming revisions to the regulations are meant to strengthen the protections already offered to news media organisations and journalists while also giving Justice Department investigators and prosecutors clear guidelines. This autumn, the Department plans to complete and publish the rules online.
Along with the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General, the following Department representatives were also present: Julie Dickerson, Counsel to the Attorney General; David Newman, Associate Deputy Attorney General; Marshall Miller, Principal Deputy Attorney General; Anthony Coley, Director, Office of Public Affairs, and Senior Advisor to the Attorney General; Dena Iverson, Principal Deputy Director, Office of Public Affairs; and Matthew Klapper, Chief of Staff to the Attorney General.
Steve Adler, chair of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Nancy Barnes, senior vice president of news and editorial director of NPR, Sally Buzbee, executive editor of the Washington Post, Ingrid Ciprian-Matthews, executive vice president of newsgathering CBS, and Jason Conti, executive vice president, general counsel and chief compliance officer of Dow Jon