Disappointing news today from the New York Times’s Charlie Savage:
The Obama administration has told lawmakers that it opposes legislation that could protect reporters from being imprisoned if they refuse to disclose confidential sources who leak material about national security, according to several people involved with the negotiations.
The administration this week sent to Congress sweeping revisions to a “media shield” bill that would significantly weaken its protections against forcing reporters to testify.
As Savage notes, Obama had been a co-sponsor of the bill while in the Senate. I’ll hopefully have more on this shortly.
UPDATE: Take a trip in the WABAC Machine, and see how Obama used to sing a very different tune on whether or not judges should oversee and approve journalist subpoenas sought by the executive branch.
Clint Hendler is the managing editor of Mother Jones, and a former deputy editor of CJR.