DOJ Rescinds Biden-Era Limits on Seizing Journalists’ Records in Criminal Leak Probes

Attorney General Pam Bondi said the policy change will restore prosecutors’ ability to hold government leakers accountable.

Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks at a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington on Feb. 12, 2025. Ben Curtis/AP Photo

The Justice Department has rescinded a Biden-era policy that limited prosecutors’ ability to obtain journalists’ records during criminal leak investigations, according to a memo issued on April 25 by Attorney General Pam Bondi.

In the memo, Bondi said she was rolling back policies put in place under her predecessor, Attorney General Merrick Garland, that barred prosecutors from seizing information from or compelling testimony by members of the news media in leak cases. The Biden-era protections, Bondi argued, had been abused to shield political allies and obstruct legitimate investigations.

“I have concluded that it is necessary to rescind Merrick Garland’s policies precluding the Department of Justice from seeking records and compelling testimony from members of the news media in order to identify and punish the source of improper leaks,” Bondi wrote. She directed the Office of Legal Policy to issue new regulatory language updating current laws to reflect the change.

Garland’s reforms prohibited federal prosecutors from using compulsory legal tools—such as subpoenas or search warrants—to obtain information from reporters engaged in newsgathering, except under narrowly defined circumstances. At the time, Garland described the move as necessary to protect press freedoms, saying in an October 2022 statement that these “regulations recognize the crucial role that a free and independent press plays in our democracy.”

The shift outlined in Bondi’s memo marks a rollback of restrictions that had been hailed by press freedom advocates as essential to protecting First Amendment rights. Bondi said that the new approach would continue to respect press freedoms while reasserting the government’s authority to combat damaging leaks.

“Without question, it is a bedrock principle that a free and independent press is vital to the functioning of our democracy,” Bondi wrote. “The Department of Justice will defend that principle, despite the lack of independence of certain members of the legacy news media.”

Responding to Bondi’s announcement, Reporters Committee President Bruce D. Brown issued a statement saying that, while the specific language of the new policy has yet to be released, the development raises concerns about press freedoms.

“Some of the most consequential reporting in U.S. history—from Watergate to warrantless wiretapping after 9/11—was and continues to be made possible because reporters have been able to protect the identities of confidential sources and uncover and report stories that matter to people across the political spectrum,“ Brown said. “Strong protections for journalists serve the American public by safeguarding the free flow of information.”

Bondi’s memo indicates that, under the new policy, subpoenas, court orders, and search warrants targeting journalists must still meet strict procedural safeguards, including high-level approval and advance notice when possible. Also, the attorney general will have to personally approve any efforts to question or arrest members of the media.

Under the revised rules, prosecutors must also show that reasonable grounds exist to believe a crime occurred, that the information sought is essential, that alternatives have been exhausted, and that good-faith negotiations have been attempted where appropriate.

However, Bondi made clear the DOJ will pursue leak investigations more aggressively, saying that unauthorized disclosures cause “significant and irreversible” harms to national security and government operations.

“This conduct could properly be characterized as treasonous,” she wrote, accusing government officials who leak sensitive information of seeking to “sow chaos and distrust.”