Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is warning reporters who receive leaks of classified information about potential investigations, as concerns grow about the federal government’s cracking down on media outlets critical of the administration.
“Prosecuting leakers who share our nation’s secrets with reporters, in turn risking our national security and the lives of our soldiers, is a priority for this administration,” Blanche wrote in a statement posted on social media Tuesday.
“Any witness, whether a reporter or otherwise, who has information about these criminals should not be surprised if they receive a subpoena about the illegal leaking of classified material,” he added.
Blanche’s comments came a day after a Wall Street Journal report suggested President Trump had complained about leaks regarding ongoing U. S. military operations in Iran.
The acting attorney general promised to secure subpoenas targeting the records of reporters who “have worked on sensitive national security stories,” the Journal reported, noting the president “passed a stack of news articles he and other senior officials thought threatened national security to Blanche with a sticky note on it that said “treason.”
Trump’s calls to find and potentially punish journalists who receive classified information from confidential sources have sparked First Amendment and press freedom concerns during his second administration.
The White House has aggressively pushed back on news coverage of the war since it began earlier this year, arguing media outlets are too focused on the conflict’s impact on the U. S. economy and not highlighting military wins in the Middle East.
Blanche earlier this spring replaced former attorney general Pam Bondi, who similarly promised to pursue people who leaked classified information to the press.
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