Legislation
House Passes Reporter Shield Bill
The White House has threatened to veto legislation that passed the House yesterday to protect reporters’ confidential sources.
The bill would protect journalists from having to reveal their sources in federal cases unless the information is needed to prevent terrorism or harm to national security, the Associated Press reports. In such cases, a judge would weigh the threat to national security against the public interest, the Washington Post reports.
President Bush said the exception did not go far enough. The bill “could severely frustrate—and in some cases completely eviscerate—the ability to investigate acts of terrorism or threats to national security,” he said.
A vote has not been scheduled on a similar bill in the Senate.
