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As
the Guardian points out: 'the devils in the details'.
Justice
department to announce new rules protecting journalists
New
guidelines issued by attorney general Eric Holder would limit the
ability of law enforcement officers to seize media communications and
would require officials to notify the targeted journalists in "all
but the most exceptional cases."
Under
the new rules, released Friday afternoon, media organizations would
be notified of records seizures except in cases where the attorney
general personally signs a waiver based on a belief that "advance
notice and negotiations would pose a clear and substantial threat to
the integrity of the investigation, risk grave harm to national
security, or present an imminent risk of death or serious bodily
harm."
"It
is expected that only the rare case would present the Attorney
General with the requisite compelling reasons to justify a delayed
notification," the new guidelines say.
The
Obama administration decided to draft the new guidelines after broad
seizures of media documents and the naming of a journalist as a
"probable co-conspirator" in an official leak sparked
outrage and accusations that the White House was violating
constitutional protections.
The
guidelines limit officials' ability to seize journalists' records to
cases where the journalists are "the focus of a criminal
investigation for conduct not connected to ordinary newsgathering
activities."
The
justice department also plans to set up a "News Media Review
Committee" to advise the attorney general when justice
department lawyers seek media-related records in investigations into
leaks.
The
report repeats Obama administration promises that journalists will
not be prosecuted for practicing journalism:
As an initial matter, it
bears emphasis that it has been and remains the Department's policy
that members of the news media will not be subject to prosecution
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