Senate Committee OKs Media Shield Bill

Law Would Guard Reporters From Being Forced To Reveal Their Sources In Federal Court

(AP)  The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday advanced a bill to shield reporters from being forced to reveal their sources in federal court, setting up a floor fight between supporters and Bush administration allies who believe the measure would harm national security.

The 15-2 vote sent the legislation to the Senate floor, where it was expected to face more challenges if not efforts to stall or kill it. A similar measure also awaits floor action in the House.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told the Associated Press Managing Editors in a speech Thursday that she will bring it up for a vote this year.

"This is fundamental to our democracy and fundamental to the security of our country," Pelosi said. More than 50 news outlets, including the AP, support the bill.

The Bush administration opposes the measure on grounds it would make it harder to trace the source of leaks that could harm national security.

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald echoed that argument Thursday in a newspaper opinion piece. Proponents of a federal shield law got momentum from Fitzgerald's decision to subpoena reporters to testify against White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby in a case that grew out of Fitzgerald's CIA leak probe. Libby was convicted of obstruction, perjury and lying to the FBI; his sentence was commuted by President Bush.

Writing in opposition to Fitzgerald in The Washington Post, former Bush administration solicitor general Theodore B. Olson argued for the proposed federal law, saying state shield laws have worked well.

The bill includes exemptions for cases in which investigators are tracking acts of terrorism in the U.S. and other countries. An amendment by Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., would keep accused spies, agents of foreign countries and terrorists from claiming the same protections extended to journalists.

[toolmangler-2009]

First we have a President who doesn''t have to reveal anything to anybody for any reason then we get a media that has the same powers. Bend over America, stick your head between your legs and kiss your ''A'' double scribble goodbye.

[frankly6]

A free press is essential to the preservation of Democracy.

[signof4]

Nice...real nice. This would make it legal for the LAMEstream media to lob bombs at conservatives and people they generally disagree with and not have to answer to anyone.

We are slowly becoming a socialist country.

[s1ckd09]

I''''m very uncomfortable with this if they don''''t have to reveal there sorces how do we know there not making it up or have sources that have an agenda this is a very slipery slope.

Posted by crzmeat at 09:33 PM : Oct 04, 2007

Exactly. And they''ve already been doing this anyway. Next time you read a news article, count how many "unnamed sources" there are. Those "sources" are taken as legitimate and yet there''s no way to prove they even exist.

If you really want to see the stories behind the stories, take with a grain of salt every quote with an unnamed source, every poll that doesn''t reveal the raw data of the poll (including the makeup of the respondents), and ignore opinions stated as fact from the reporter himself.

For example, this article is well-written, and states facts and quotes from verifiable sources, not opinions and slanted journalistic "reporting".

Learn what you''re REALLY reading... Don''t automatically take what you read as truth OR fiction. Too many people assume one or the other these days, and you see the results all over these boards.

[Krazcarl]

I''m very uncomfortable with this if they don''t have to reveal there sorces how do we know there not making it up or have sources that have an agenda this is a very slipery slope.

[speakinup]

What ever happened to the part of the constitution that said yuo had the right to face your accusers ?

Is that not a ''family value'' for the Dems ?

[s1ckd09]

I can''t figure out what you libs are going to say about this one. You have a liberal Congress voting to give reporters the right to say anything they want and not have any proof, and you guys want every single piece of information that exists to try to smear Bush and conservatives, accusing them of hiding behind laws. Now you have a Congress trying to CREATE laws to hide behind.
The problem is, if the reporters would have been forced earlier to reveal their sources in the Valerie Plame case, it would have come out a lot earlier that the Bush administration wasn''t the source of the leak. But the libs can''t have any of that, now can they? They don''t want the truth, they want whatever can harm Bush the most.

[savetheus]

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