A day after coming under fire for the Justice Department's tapping of phone lines belonging to the Associated Press, the Obama administration sought to enact legislation that would protect reporters from identifying sources.
The move appears to be the administration's way of distancing themselves from one of the many scandals to rock the White House in recent days.
According to The New York Times, Ed Pagano, Obama's senate liaison, urged Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., to revisit a bill that he supported in 2009. The Free Flow of Information Act had been approved by the Senate Judiciary committee before ultimately meeting its demise waiting for a vote that never came on the Senate floor. Increased scrutiny over leaks within the government following the publication of secret government documents on WikiLeaks diverted attention from the bill, according to The New York Times.
The level of protection afforded the press by the 2009 bill would have been determined by whether the case was a civil case, a criminal case or a matter of national security. The maximum amount of protections would be given in civil cases; the burden would be on the information seekers to prove why their need to find a source's identity outweighed the public need for a free press, according to The New York Times.
In the case of national security, which the current AP scandal would qualify as since it is related to the prevention of a potential terrorist plot, the government would have the odds tilted heavily in their favor. The government would need only to prove that the information they are seeking, most likely the name of a press source, would be useful in preventing a potential terrorist attack.
Senator Schumer spoke about how the current scandal with the Justice Department would have been perceived differently if the Free Flow of Information Act has become law in 2009.
"This kind of law would balance national security needs against the public's right to the free flow of information," Schumer said. "At minimum, our bill would have ensured a fairer, more deliberate process in this case."
Representatives from Schumer's office said he's expected to re-introduce the form of the bill that passed the Judiciary Committee, according to The New York Times.
When asked by USA Today about the timing of Obama's desire to resurrect the bill White House spokesman Jay Carney said that the president has always supported a media shield bill since his days in the Senate and believes that now is an opportune time to revisit the issue.
