Justice Department tightens guidelines in leak investigations
The Justice Department can no longer obtain a search warrant for a reporters phone or e-mail records unless the reporter is the target of a criminal investigation, under new guidelines that will be announced by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Friday afternoon.
Under the rules, media organizations will also have to be notified if a reporters records are being subpoenaed, unless the attorney general decides it would harm a criminal investigation.
*****************************************************************************************************
In a second case involving Fox News, reporter James Rosen was called a possible co-conspirator in a crime as part of an effort to obtain a search warrant for his records in a leak investigation. A Justice Department official said that would no longer be permitted.
A search warrant for a reporters records can now only be obtained if the reporter is the target of the leak investigation and not if he obtained classified information while reporting.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/justice-department-tightens-guidelines-in-leak-investigations/2013/07/12/5927e16e-eb19-11e2-8023-b7f07811d98e_story.html?Post+generic=%3Ftid%3Dsm_twitter_washingtonpost