Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Department of Justice is currently reviewing policies that would allow officials to subpoena media members regarding national security leaks.
In a press conference held Friday morning, Sessions announced an aggressive plan to combat a rash of leaks occurring under the Trump Administration.
He specifically referenced the media, saying while their role in investigating stories deserves “respect,” their involvement in leaking sensitive information “is not unlimited.”
“One of the things we are doing is reviewing policies affecting media subpoenas,” Sessions announced. “They cannot place lives at risk with impunity.”
AG Jeff Sessions, citing leaks, says he’s “reviewing policies” for subpoenaing the press. “They cannot place lives at risk with impunity.” pic.twitter.com/U35g1QankV
— NBC News (@NBCNews) August 4, 2017
Via the Daily Caller:
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Friday that the Department of Justice is considering subpoenaing journalists in order to determine who in the Trump administration is leaking classified information.
The attorney general made the announcement alongside Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, as leaks continue to pile up under the Trump administration, and the president continues to be publicly irritated with them.
“In the first six months of this Administration, DOJ has already received nearly as many criminal referrals involving unauthorized disclosures of classified information as we received in the last three years combined,” Sessions said.
Sessions’s announcement that he will hold the media accountable for national security leaks is a significant development in an ongoing saga that has plagued the Trump White House since he took office.
Biggest item in Sessions press conference on leaks so far:
DOJ is reviewing policy on use of subpoenas against reporters and news media
— Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw) August 4, 2017
But it wasn’t the only warning Sessions delivered at the press conference. He also issued a warning to those actually leaking the information to the press – You “will be prosecuted.”
AG Sessions says criminals who have leaked classified information are “being investigated and will be prosecuted” https://t.co/n7TqA3VDnW pic.twitter.com/BhjXL66FOM
— ABC News (@ABC) August 4, 2017
“Criminals who would illegally use their access to our most sensitive information to endanger our national security are in fact being investigated, and will be prosecuted,” Sessions warned.
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