Overview

• Attorney General Pam Bondi formally rescinded policies established by Merrick Garland in 2022 that restricted the use of subpoenas to obtain journalists' records in leak investigations.
• The new directive allows federal prosecutors to pursue reporters' communications and potentially jail those who refuse to reveal confidential sources.
• The Trump administration has intensified its actions against traditional media, including event bans, lawsuits, and efforts to defund NPR, PBS, and Voice of America.
• The failure to pass the bipartisan Press Act in late 2024 left journalists without codified legal protections, making them vulnerable to policy reversals like Bondi's memo.
• Media experts warn that these measures pose a severe threat to press freedom, potentially deterring investigative journalism and undermining democratic accountability.