Press Shield Law

WHITE HOUSE OPPOSES LAW PROTECTING CONFIDENTIAL SOURCES (From CAP Progress Report): In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty said that a bill protecting journalists who refuse to reveal their confidential sources would "significantly weaken" the Justice Department's ability to collect critical national security information. The bill is a response to the recent spate of journalists being threatened or punished with imprisonment for refusing to reveal their anonymous sources. Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) rejected the opposition and said he wants to "push forward" with the bill. His sentiment was echoed by Theodore Olson, a former solicitor general in the Bush Administration, who supported the bill because it would "support investigative journalism." The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press calls the bill "the best effort in more than 30 years for Congress to take steps to recognize the importance of providing protection needed by journalists and their confidential sources to fully inform the public."