WHOA! WH Asks Sen. Schumer to Re-Introduce 'Media Shield Law' Bill

[bigtree]

_________________________

tweeted by, Steve Benen ?@stevebenen 3m
RT @charlie_savage: White House this morning asked Senator Schumer to reintroduce the media shield bill which died on Senate floor in 2010.


— The Obama administration sought on Wednesday to revive legislation that would provide greater protections to reporters from penalties for refusing to identify confidential sources, and that would enable journalists to ask a federal judge to quash subpoenas for their phone records, a White House official said.

The official said that President Obama’s Senate liaison, Ed Pagano, called Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, who is a chief proponent of a so-called media shield law, on Wednesday morning and asked him to reintroduce a bill that he had pushed in 2009. The measure was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee but never received a floor vote . . .

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Tuesday defended the subpoena but also disclosed that he had recused himself last year from overseeing the investigation, and that his deputy, James M. Cole, was the official who signed off on obtaining the toll records — logs of calls sent and received — for several A.P. bureaus and reporters. Mr. Holder was set to testify on Wednesday afternoon before the House Judiciary Committee.

Brian Fallon, a spokesman for Mr. Schumer, said the senator would reintroduce the compromise version of the bill in the form that passed the Judiciary Committee.

read: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/16/us/politics/under-fire-white-house-pushes-to-revive-media-shield-bill.html?_r=0

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update: ACLU article

DOJ's AP Phone Logs Grab Highlights Renewed Need for Shield Law
By Gabe Rottman, Legislative Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office

____ 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 and effectively blocked 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.

If there ever were a time to resurrect the federal shield law, it is now . . .


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

[JaneyVee]

1. Chess.

[cui bono]

14. More like damage control. n/t

[Blue_Tires]

21. it's a smart, clever move either way...

[morningfog]

31. "Hey, if you don't want me invading your privacy, somebody has stop me."

[Volaris]

32. At least he (The President) understands how shit is SUPPOSED to work in the US POLITICAL system.

Yeah, Executive Power is supposed to be checked by CONGRESS, (not the goodwill of whoever is sitting in the Oval Office) and by means OTHER than blind obstruction.

The only thing that bothers me, is that this is legislation protects MEDIA (ALL OF IT), and not JOURNALISTS, specifically. That may be overanalyzing, but if it were ME writing that bill, I would at least suggest that there is a difference.

[zerosumgame0005]

40. funny about Issa

voting against it previously...

[Bonhomme Richard]

2. Badaboom! n/t

[Life Long Dem]

3. Reintroduce the media shield bill or stop your whining. n/t

[one_voice]

4. Now what...

their move.

[CakeGrrl]

5. POTUS a step ahead. Whaddyaknow?

[progressoid]

6. A step ahead?

[CakeGrrl]

8. Okay, "prepared"

[Jenoch]

7. I agree with shield laws.

The only hang up I can see is coming up with a definition of 'reporter'.

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. Locally, thanks to an idiot that did a series of no-nos,

We have been having a healthy discussion on media passes and who should issue them.

Granted, for the most part the only time I need a current I release the county of any liability if I get perfectly stupid and get injured or killed card, is when going behind public safety lines to cover things like hazmat, swat or fires...otherwise, have it or not the cops tend...for the most part, to leave reporters and bloggers pretty much alone.

The no-nos I mean is actually interfering with police officers during an active arrest. This guy has done this several times. For some odd reason the PD that issues for the full county has refused to renew it.

In my view the only time they should be needed is precisely when you take your life into your hands...and believe it or not bloggers had an easier time getting credentials to Comic-con than we did, and we have stupid cards...funny dat, the local AP reporter, who is also a comic geek, refused to jump all them hoops. Not even the city put that many hoops in our way.

That we found very "special."

[Jenoch]

11. Media 'credentials' don't mean what they once did.

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. I know... And as I said locally

It's more the I release the county of liability than anything else.

Where they really matter though is media day at the Federal court house...only time I can bring a camera and a recorder in

[Jenoch]

15. Are you employed as a reporter for a media organization

or are you a blogger?

[nadinbrzezinski]

17. Employed, more like freelance for a local paper

So yes, the East County Magazine. Rarely we even break national news.



I also maintain a local labor blog

[Jenoch]

18. It sounds like you are doing good work.

I sometimes worry about 'citizen' journalists who have not had any training, don't confirm facts, and have an agenda. I have a journalism degree although I no longer consider myself a reporter.

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. Well, at times it painful

And chasing pols who do not want to talk to actual press can be fun. I never knew Duncan Hunter could run that fast.

I swear, I loaded the nerf ball gun on that one. He's never, ever, given us the time of day...so figured start with a weather during the parade question...hardballs can come later.

[Jenoch]

20. I think one of the most important things local news organizations

can do is to keep track of politicians, especially local government. Bell, California comes to mind.

[nadinbrzezinski]

22. Yup, the local burning issue, no pun...are fire boards

Brown Act violations left and right and county wanting to make a county fire dept.

Due to those violations we are becoming experts on the Act.

Locally the other issue is industrial wind mills and all the real damage they are actually doing.

As an aside, fire coverage. I am gad temps dropped...BIL had to go to the ER last night, so got child care duties, can't take kids to the fire line...

[xtraxritical]

24. Duncan Hunter and Cunningham, Calvert's my rep., ewe...

[nadinbrzezinski]

28. Lucky ducky?

Look on the bright side, you too could have Issa. Duncan is a saint in comparison.

[xtraxritical]

38. Issa was previously my rep. until redistricting...

[nadinbrzezinski]

39. So things are looking up

You know the sad part...unless you really know these two, most folks will miss the jokes.

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. That is what I call getting ahead of the scandal

Which it is...garden variety second term scandal

[wandy]

16. Politicizing Benghazi for six month. Silley.........

Wining about the IRS doing it's job. Stupid.
Bringing checkers to a self inflicted chess game. Priceless republican.

[Volaris]

33. that "bringing checkers" quip is the best thing I've read all week.

thanks for that, I'm keeping it.

[ProSense]

23. Good! n/t

[DonCoquixote]

25. at this point

I do not care if he is doing this as 3d chess, or as CYA, it is still a good thing, and I am not looking gift horses in the mouth.

[grahamhgreen]

26. I'll K&R that

[snappyturtle]

27. I don't care why the President is doing this but glad...it needs to be done

for the reporters and for all of us.

[ProSense]

29. Something good can come out of this.

Everyone should be pushing for Congress to pass this.

[struggle4progress]

30. ... The version the Obama administration is seeking to revive .. is the one

that was chiefly sponsored by Mr. Schumer, which was negotiated between the newspaper industry and the White House. It was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in a bipartisan 15-to-4 vote in December 2009. But while it was awaiting a floor vote in 2010, a furor over leaking arose after WikiLeaks began publishing archives of secret government documents, and the bill never received a vote ...
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/16/us/politics/under-fire-white-house-pushes-to-revive-media-shield-bill.html?_r=0

[Cha]

35. Interesting! Wonder if that needs its own OP?

thanks struggle!

[pmorlan1]

34. What a cruel joke

What a joke. The AP certainly had no chance to go before a judge. The DOJ went around them by giving the subpoena to the phone company. This is nothing but a political stunt.

[Cha]

36. THe fucking AP Endangered Lives with their leaks. Deal with it.

[nadinbrzezinski]

41. So the press should only report on authorized stories

By the state?

That is what we call a free press these days?

I just love these new American values

[pmorlan1]

42. Wrong

THe AP did not endanger lives. Perhaps you need to read more pieces that give the facts rather than the government spin.

[Cha]

43. I know you need a good shot of reality.

[Cha]

37. Mahalo, bigtree!

[CarmanK]

44. And restore TRUTH IN REPORTING ACt repealed by Reagan and allows FOX etc to LIE over pub air.