Senate rejects ‘Media Shield’; Coalition commends Senate for its rejection of flawed bill

(Washington, D.C.): Today marks an important victory for American national security as the "Free Flow of Information Act of 2007" (S. 2035, also known as the "media shield" bill) failed to receive the votes necessary for its consideration by the U.S. Senate.  The Coalition for Security, Liberty, and the Law – consisting of accomplished professionals and experts in national security and law enforcement – is particularly pleased to have led an effort advising against passage of this dangerous legislation in the form of a joint letter to the Senate released yesterday.

The media shield bill would have prevented the federal government from forcing anyone "engaging in journalism" to disclose information about the identity of a source – even in circumstances where the source has leaked classified national security information – if the source disclosed such information with an understanding of confidentiality.  Such insulation for journalists would have effectively also shielded those who leak classified information, encouraging more such leaks in the future.

Among the signatories of the letter to Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell were: former National Security Advisor William P. Clark, former Director of Central Intelligence R. James Woolsey, former National Counterintelligence Executive Michelle Van Cleave, former Attorney General and Governor of Pennsylvania Richard Thornburgh, former Solicitor General and former Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Robert Bork, former Assistant Deputy Secretary of Defense Vincent E. Falter, Major General, U.S. Army (Ret.), former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic Leon A. Edney, Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.), former Acting Secretary of the Air Force Tidal W. McCoy, and Andrew C. McCarthy, former Prosecutor, Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

In response to the Senate’s vote against the media shield bill, Frank J. Gaffney, Jr., President of the Center for Security Policy (which sponsors the Coalition) said:

The 43 Senators who voted against cloture on the so-called ‘media shield’ bill deserve high praise for heeding the leaders of our national security agencies – who unanimously and strenuously objected to this legislation – and the views of many security policy professionals and experts outside of government.  Passage of this bill would not only have ensured future leaks of classified information – it would have enabled them, by creating the presumption that journalists receiving such information cannot be forced to disclose the source’s identity.

Among other, serious defects in this legislation is its substitution of institutionally unqualified federal judges for executive branch officials with respect to the task of determining whether source disclosure would be in the ‘public interest.’ Then, there is the problem that even terrorist bloggers could be covered under the definition of ‘journalists.’

Those who signed the letter urging the Senate to oppose this legislation, and those Senators who did so, have done the Nation an invaluable service."