Sessions plans crackdown to halt ‘ culture of leaking’
Prosecutors will review Justice policy on subpoenas issued to the media
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a broad crackdown on unauthorized disclosures of classified information Friday, demanding that the “culture of leaking must stop.”
Referring to an “explosion” of such incidents since January, Sessions said the Justice Department has more than tripled the number of active leak investigations compared to the number pending at the end of the Obama administration.
Justice has already received nearly as many criminal referrals involving unauthorized disclosures of classified information than in the previous three years combined, Sessions said.
“I have this warning for would- be leakers: Don’t do it,” Sessions said. “I strongly agree with the president and condemn in the strongest terms the staggering number of leaks.”
At the same time, Sessions offered an ominous warning, that prosecutors have launched a review of Justice policy related to subpoenas issued to media organizations in criminal investigations.
“We respect the important role that the press has and we give them respect, but it is not unlimited,” Sessions said. “They cannot place lives at risk with impunity.”
Sessions’ remarks threatened a break with the Obama Justice Department policy, which asserted that reporters would not be targeted.
Former Attorney General Eric Holder, then taking fire for aggressive investigative tactics taken against journalists, pledged that he would not prosecute reporters for doing their jobs.
The Trump Justice Department, however, offered no such blanket protections, as Sessions also announced the creation of a new counter- intelligence unit within the FBI that would focus exclusively on leaks of classified material.
In a briefing following Friday’s announcement, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein declined to comment on whether reporters might be prosecuted. But Rosenstein did commit to consulting with media organizations before any new policy is promulgated.
A media advisory group was formed during the Obama administration following a series of actions taken against reporters and news organizations in pursuit of leak investigations.
Sessions and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, who also condemned the unauthorized disclosures, appeared together a day after The Washington Post published complete transcripts of Trump’s first calls with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
“No government can be effective when its leaders cannot discuss sensitive matters in confidence or to talk freely in confidence with foreign leaders,” the attorney general said.
Coats, meanwhile, characterized the steady stream of disclosures as “the worst compromise of classified information in the nation’s history.”
The announcement comes just after President Trump spent much of the past 10 days publicly deriding his attorney general and calling on Sessions to be tougher on leaks from intelligence agencies, which have proved particularly damaging to the White House.
Sessions, who last week described Trump’s criticisms as “hurtful,” said Friday that he and the president were in lock- step on fighting leaks.
“First, letme say I strongly agree with the president and condemn in the strongest terms the staggering number of leaks undermining the ability of our government to protect this country,” Sessions said.