Story highlights Comey sought to distinguish between journalists and WikiLeaks' "intelligence porn"

Comey said the focus should be on the "leakers" and not "legitimate newsgathering"

(CNN) FBI Director James Comey sent a clear message to newsrooms across the country Wednesday: American journalists who receive classified material from sources are not criminals.

Comey was specifically asked during a Senate judiciary committee hearing by Republican Sen. Ben Sasse to explain whether journalists violate the law by soliciting leaks within the intelligence community.

"That conduct is not treated by the US government as criminal conduct," Comey explained. "In my lifetime, the Department of Justice's view has been newsgathering and legitimate news coverage is not covered and is not going to be investigated or prosecuted as a criminal act."

"Our focus is and should be on the leakers and not those that are obtaining (classified information) as part of legitimate newsgathering," Comey added.

While legal protections exist for reporters publishing classified information -- Comey's exchange with Sasse, a Nebraska Republican, was particularly noteworthy given President Donald Trump's repeated calls for leak investigations.

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