The Justice Department’s seizure of a New York Times reporter’s private email and phone records has sparked one of President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE’s top GOP allies in Congress to say he’ll aggressively pursue legislation to protect journalists.

Rep. Jim Jordan James (Jim) Daniel JordanHouse panel pulls Powell into partisan battles over pandemic Sunday shows preview: Justice Ginsburg dies, sparking partisan battle over vacancy before election House passes resolution condemning anti-Asian discrimination relating to coronavirus MORE (R-Ohio), a former chairman of the House Freedom Caucus and a possible candidate for Speaker, said the need for a federal media “shield” law is even more critical after reporter Ali Watkins’s records were taken.

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The shield law he’s proposed would protect journalists from being forced by the government to turn over their records or sources, and is similar to a bill that had been co-authored by Vice President Pence.

“For me, it truly is about the Constitution,” Jordan, a former attorney, told The Hill in an interview.

“When you think about the context of the last several years, you’ve seen the IRS target conservative for their political beliefs. You’ve seen what the FBI was trying to do with phones and Apple encryption. You’ve seen this deal with the FBI and this reporter, Ali Watkins,” he said.

“All these things are examples of where government continues to encroach and violate people’s fundamental liberties.”

The seizure of Watkins’s records has infuriated First Amendment advocates and civil liberties champions, while thrusting the issue of press freedoms into the national spotlight.

Jordan, the founding chairman of the hard-right Freedom Caucus and a vocal Trump ally, has been working on the shield legislation for months. Last fall, Rep. Jamie Raskin Jamin (Jamie) Ben RaskinOn The Money: House panel pulls Powell into partisan battles | New York considers hiking taxes on the rich | Treasury: Trump's payroll tax deferral won't hurt Social Security House panel pulls Powell into partisan battles over pandemic Shakespeare Theatre Company goes virtual for 'Will on the Hill...or Won't They?' MORE (D-Md.), a liberal constitutional law professor at American University, approached Jordan, a fellow House Judiciary Committee member, about being a lead co-sponsor of Raskin’s media shield bill.

“I’m in,” Jordan told Raskin at the time.

Raskin and Jordan rolled out the Free Flow of Information Act on Nov. 14, just hours after Attorney General Jeff Sessions Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsGOP set to release controversial Biden report Trump's policies on refugees are as simple as ABCs Ocasio-Cortez, Velázquez call for convention to decide Puerto Rico status MORE told Congress he could not make a “blanket commitment” to not jail journalists who refuse to cooperate in leak investigations.

“The press plays an essential and sacrosanct role in American democracy and we need to make sure that the government cannot harass and intimidate reporters in the pursuit of their stories,” Raskin said in an interview on the steps of the Capitol. “Everybody should be troubled that the government appears to be clamping down on the work of reporters. The press, under our First Amendment, play a vital role in checking governmental abuse and tyranny.”

The Raskin–Jordan legislation is identical to bipartisan legislation co-authored by then-Rep. Mike Pence Michael (Mike) Richard PenceThe Hill's 12:30 Report: Ginsburg lies in repose Buttigieg stands in as Pence for Harris's debate practice Trump argues full Supreme Court needed to settle potential election disputes MORE (R-Ind.) that cleared the House on a lopsided 398-21 vote back in 2007, two years after then-New York Times reporter Judith Miller was jailed for 85 days for refusing to disclose her White House source who leaked the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame.

Rep. Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanKenosha will be a good bellwether in 2020 At indoor rally, Pence says election runs through Wisconsin Juan Williams: Breaking down the debates MORE (R-Wis.) was one of 176 Republicans to join almost all Democrats in voting "yes." But Republicans filibustered the bill in the Senate amid a veto threat from President George W. Bush.

The new bill currently has only six co-sponsors, including Reps. Alex Mooney Alexander (Alex) Xavier MooneyHouse GOP lawmakers urge Senate to confirm Vought Overnight Defense: House passes bills to rein in Trump on Iran | Pentagon seeks Iraq's permission to deploy missile defenses | Roberts refuses to read Paul question on whistleblower during impeachment trial Here are the lawmakers who defected on Iran legislation MORE (R-W.Va.), Grace Meng Grace MengHouse passes resolution condemning anti-Asian discrimination relating to coronavirus Clark rolls out endorsements in assistant Speaker race This week: House returns for pre-election sprint MORE (D-N.Y.) and John Yarmuth John Allen YarmuthPelosi, Democrats unveil bills to rein in alleged White House abuses of power GOP, White House struggle to unite behind COVID-19 relief House seeks ways to honor John Lewis MORE (D-Ky.). But two Freedom Caucus leaders, Chairman Mark Meadows Mark Randall MeadowsThe Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - GOP closes ranks to fill SCOTUS vacancy by November House moves toward spending vote after bipartisan talks House Democrats mull delay on spending bill vote MORE (R-N.C.) and Rep. Warren Davidson Warren Earl DavidsonGOP-Trump fractures on masks open up House punts on FISA, votes to begin negotiations with Senate House cancels planned Thursday vote on FISA MORE (R-Ohio), plus past shield-law supporters like Rep. Mike Simpson MIchael (Mike) Keith SimpsonDuring a time of uncertainty, Great American Outdoors Act deserves our support Dentists want coronavirus testing kits before reopening MLB, Congress play hardball in fight over minor leagues MORE (R-Idaho), said they planned to sign on to the bill.

“I would vote for it, because I think reporters ought to have that shield and protect their sources,” Simpson said. “Otherwise how are you gonna get accurate reporting?”

Asked by The Hill on Thursday about the reporter shield bill, Ryan replied: “Wasn’t that Mike Pence’s bill? I still support it. I voted for it back then; I haven’t changed my position.”

But the Speaker added that he hasn’t given any thought to bringing the bill to the floor this year.

Jordan said he now plans to aggressively whip support given Pence and Ryan’s past support, the Watkins case and reports that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein Rod RosensteinDOJ kept investigators from completing probe of Trump ties to Russia: report Five takeaways from final Senate Intel Russia report FBI officials hid copies of Russia probe documents fearing Trump interference: book MORE threatened to subpoena emails and phone records of House Intelligence Committee staffers, what Jordan says is another example of executive branch overreach.

“We just hadn’t pushed it, and now’s a good time,” Jordan said as he hurriedly walked from his office to votes.

Last week, it was revealed that the Department of Justice (DOJ) had obtained years worth of emails and phone records from Watkins, 26, as part of an investigation into whether top Senate Intelligence Committee staffer James Wolfe leaked classified information to reporters related to the Russia probe. The DOJ charged Wolfe, 57, with making false statements to the FBI about his contact with reporters, including Watkins.

Wolfe pleaded not guilty on Wednesday.

Watkins and Wolfe had a three-year personal relationship that began when she was a college intern at McClatchy and continued as she bounced around to different national security reporting jobs at HuffPost, BuzzFeed and Politico. Watkins said Wolfe was not a source during that time. Last December, she joined the New York Times, which said Wednesday it is investigating Watkins’s involvement in the Wolfe matter, including their relationship.

Under current administration policies, the DOJ is supposed to notify a reporter first before subpoenaing his or her records. But DOJ leaders were concerned that if they told her, she would tip off Wolfe or take other steps to undermine the leak investigation, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

Trump has kept up a steady stream of attacks on special counsel Robert Mueller Robert (Bob) MuellerCNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill's 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE’s Russia investigation and the reporters covering the story, calling the press this week “our country’s biggest enemy.”

On Capitol Hill, Jordan, Meadows and other Trump allies have been highly critical of the Muller probe, which includes investigating possible collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia, as well as Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s supervision of that probe.

What’s interesting is that Jordan is now advocating for a New York Times reporter who broke the story that Russian spies had tried to recruit former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, a key component of Mueller’s Russia probe.

In the interview, Jordan said he had spoken this week to three Judiciary colleagues — Reps. Steve King Steven (Steve) Arnold KingTrump, Biden deadlocked in Iowa: poll GOP leader: 'There is no place for QAnon in the Republican Party' Loomer win creates bigger problem for House GOP MORE (R-Iowa), Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and Raskin — about holding a hearing on the DOJ’s search and seizure of reporter records and how the agency obtained messages that had been transmitted over encrypted messaging apps, including Signal and WhatsApp.

King is chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.

In addition to his work with Raskin, Jordan has teamed with Lieu, a vocal Trump critic, on another bill that would bar states from forcing Apple and other tech companies to build “backdoors” in their devices so law enforcement can access them.

Jordan’s pairing with Raskin is an unusual one given that they hail from opposite ends of the political spectrum: The former was the founding chairman of the far-right Freedom Caucus, while the latter is a vice chair of the Progressive Caucus.

But Raskin explained that press freedom is an area where both liberals and libertarian-minded conservatives see eye to eye.

“There is a bedrock respect and love for the Bill of Rights among progressive Democrats and libertarian Republicans and that’s how we get together,” said Raskin, whose mother was a journalist and father served as a national security aide to President Kennedy.

“Anybody who has a liberal or libertarian bone in their body is afraid of Big Brother run amok during this period,” Raskin told The Hill. “It’s getting a little 1984ish out there.”