This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

One of the top officials at the US justice department said on Sunday that the agency’s heightened focus on policing leaks of classified information is not intended to put journalists in legal jeopardy.



Jeff Sessions bows to Trump pressure and launches crackdown on leakers Read more

Speaking to Fox News Sunday, Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, emphasized that the department’s renewed effort to prosecute leaks of classified information was not aimed at the news media.

“We’re after the leakers, not the journalists,” he said. “We don’t prosecute journalists for doing their jobs.“

Rosenstein would not rule out charging journalists altogether, saying reporters could face charges if they deliberately violated the law.

“Generally speaking, reporters who publish information are not committing a crime but there might be a circumstance in which they do,” he said. “I wouldn’t rule it out if there were a case where the reporter was purposefully violating the law.”

On Friday, Jeff Sessions, the attorney general, announced that his department was tripling the number of investigations into leaks of classified information. Donald Trump has been fiercely critical of the high number of leaks coming from the federal government since he took office.

Rosenstein said the justice department has experienced a “surge” of referrals pertaining to leaks of government information. He also said the department would pursue charges against “anybody who breaks the law” leaking information, including members of Congress and top White House officials.

Also on Sunday, an Obama administration official echoed Rosenstein’s concerns.

“The leaks right now are really bad. I’ve never seen it this bad,” former homeland security secretary Jeh Johnson said on CBS Face the Nation. But he cautioned the justice department that going after reporters for their sources could have unintended consequences.

“Before you decide to take on journalists, reporters and perhaps subpoena their sources, be aware that the courts are going to get involved, and that has the potential for making bad law in this area,” Johnson said.