“Attorney General Pam Bondi fired a warning shot at the free press last Friday,” according to the Editorial Board of the Washington Post.
They are concerned with the removal of a Justice Department regulation, which limited the government’s ability to see the phone or email records of journalists.
Bondi replaced this guideline with ones they call “most chilling.”
This is because Bondi is allowing investigators to go after members of the media who obtain “privileged and other sensitive information,” not just classified material, “that undermine President [Donald] Trump’s policies.”
The regulations Bondi removed were put in place by Attorney General Garland.
Additionally, the House of Representatives voted unanimously to codify the regulation, which was known as the Press Act (Protect Reporters and Exploitative State Spying Act) last year.
But Trump called on Senate Republicans to kill the bill after his election.
“The effort had bipartisan support because both parties have an interest in exposing wrongdoing inside government, especially when they are in the opposition,” according to the Post.
