I Think I'll Side With The ACLU On This...

[ProSense]

6. Well,

"I Think I'll Side With The ACLU On This..."

...I understand why civil liberties groups are upset, but the fact remains that the DOJ's actions are legal based on what is known.

Frankly, the defense of the media here doesn't convince me because AP's motives are suspect. Now, something good can come out of this.

DOJ's AP Phone Logs Grab Highlights Renewed Need for Shield Law

By Gabe Rottman

Update: The administration has asked Sen. Schumer to reintroduce the Free Flow of Information Act, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) just announced that he will do so in the House, and Rep. Ted Poe (R-Texas) introduced a similar bill today. The administration should certainly be commended for taking proactive steps to prevent this from happening again. That said, the administration can’t get in the way this time. The demand in 2009 for a broad exception for national security leaks cases delayed the bill, and tempered enthusiasm among Democrats for the bill in the face of strong opposition by certain Republicans. The 2013 bill must protect against what happened here with the AP, and it’s not clear that the 2009 White House compromise would have done so.

Although the president's press secretary noted yesterday then-Senator Obama's support for a federal shield law to protect reporters from having to disclose their sources, he failed to mention how the White House deep-sixed a comprehensive shield bill back in 2009. That bill could have prevented the extraordinary Associated Press subpoena, which was disclosed this week.

Back in 2009, various stakeholders—including Republicans in the House, Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Arlen Specter (D-Pa.), and a broad coalition of free press and public interest groups—came together to support the Free Flow of Information Act. Although not perfect, the original bill contained express safeguards requiring the administration to exhaust all other means of obtaining the information sought and to tailor subpoenas narrowly, along with other safeguards to preserve source anonymity.

While initially backing the legislation, the administration abruptly reversed course in late 2009, demanding that the bill contain what amounted to an exemption for national security leak cases and severely limiting judicial discretion under the measure. The bill died and has yet to be resurrected.

<...>

And yet, despite the clear public interest in revealing this government misconduct, the Obama administration—the "most transparent administration in history"—will have as one of its legacies an unprecedented crackdown on the unauthorized disclosure of classified information. It has prosecuted many more leakers (twice as many as all previous administrations combined), and pursued leak investigations more aggressively than anyone else. The time is ripe for a federal law that would protect reporters from having to disclose their sources (with limited exceptions to ensure due process for criminal defendants and to prevent actual and imminent harm).

http://www.aclu.org/blog/free-speech-national-security/dojs-ap-phone-logs-grab-highlights-renewed-need-shield-law

"The seizure of AP's phone records is legal"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022850071

Information about the shield laws are posted at the link.