WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) led her Judiciary Committee colleagues in pressing Attorney General Pam Bondi regarding her decision to change Justice Department policies to make it easier for the Justice Department to subpoena journalists to obtain information about their confidential sources and potentially harass journalists who write stories critical of the Administration. .
“We write to express our deep concern with the Department of Justice’s April 25, 2025 memorandum changing the guidance that set limitations on the Department’s ability to subpoena materials from journalists and news organizations,” wrote the Senators. “The free press is a bedrock of our democracy and reporters must be able to do their jobs without fear of being investigated or prosecuted.”
“When asked at your confirmation hearing to commit to 'respect the importance of a free press,' you said ‘absolutely,'” the Senators continued. “Yet your decision to rescind important limits on the Justice Department’s ability to compel information from the press threatens the ability of journalists to fully perform their critical jobs, as guaranteed by the First Amendment.”
Along with Klobuchar, the letter was signed by every Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee – Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chris Coons (D-DE), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Adam Schiff (D-CA).
The full letter is available here and below.
Dear Attorney General Bondi:
We write to express our deep concern with the Department of Justice’s April 25, 2025 memorandum changing the guidance that set limitations on the Department’s ability to subpoena materials from journalists and news organizations.
The free press is a bedrock of our democracy and reporters must be able to do their jobs without fear of being investigated or prosecuted. When asked at your confirmation hearing to commit to “respect the importance of a free press,” you said “absolutely.” Yet your decision to rescind important limits on the Justice Department’s ability to compel information from the press threatens the ability of journalists to fully perform their critical jobs, as guaranteed by the First Amendment.
Under the previous guidance, the Justice Department was authorized to subpoena journalists engaged in news gathering only “[w]hen necessary to prevent an imminent or concrete risk of death or serious bodily harm.” Under the 2025 guidance, Justice Department officials can take the extraordinary step of subpoenaing journalists merely to investigate “unauthorized disclosures that undermine President Trump’s policies,” extending far beyond disclosures of classified information. In other words, under this new guidance, there is little protection for journalists who publish any story critical of the Administration from being threatened with a subpoena and litigation to enforce the subpoena. The threat to journalists is especially concerning given Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel’s claims prior to his confirmation that the news media is “the most powerful enemy the United States has ever seen” and that he would “come after the people in the media . . . criminally or civilly.”
Nor does it appear that the Justice Department would subpoena reporters’ records only as a last resort. Under the guidelines, the Justice Department may subpoena journalists after the Attorney General has made only a few subjective determinations, such as whether the information sought is “essential to a successful prosecution,” whether “reasonable attempts” to obtain the information from alternative sources were made, and whether engaging in negotiations would threaten “the integrity of the investigation.” These factors make it far too easy for the Attorney General to compel journalists to reveal sources.
This change will also deter whistleblowers from coming forward with information to the news media, depriving the public of valuable information about its government. Whistleblowers that violate the law—for example by disclosing classified information—should be subject to the legal consequences of that action, but the government should not be allowed to intimidate or harass journalists who lawfully report the news.
As the Office of Legal Policy prepares regulations to implement your memorandum, we respectfully request that you provide responses to the following questions:
- What protections are in place to ensure that journalists are not targeted because they published a news article critical of the Administration?
- Will you commit to ensuring that issuing a subpoena to a journalist or news organization will be used only as a last resort when there is a compelling and overriding interest in the information, such as protecting national security?
- Will the regulations require the Department to comply with state shield laws?
- Is the Department consulting with outside organizations, including organizations representing journalists, as part of the preparation of regulations? If so, what organizations?
- What measures will the regulations put in place to ensure that the White House is not allowed to order or influence the issuance of a subpoena to a journalist or news organization?
- What process for review, if any, will be put in place to ensure the new regulations are being followed and are not being abused for political or any other inappropriate purpose?
- Has the Justice Department issued any subpoenas to journalists or news organizations under this new guidance? If so, to whom and seeking what information?
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