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Number of subpoenas issued

Argument: The DOJ claimed in its July 2007 letter that it rarely issues subpoenas, has approved only 19 source-related subpoenas since 1991, and there is no need for this legislation.

Argument: The DOJ claimed in its July 2007 letter that it rarely issues subpoenas, has approved only 19 source-related subpoenas since 1991, and there is no need for this legislation.

Response:

  • Somehow their numbers do not add up. In 2001, the DOJ acknowledged it had issued approximately 90 subpoenas to the media and claimed that only 19 journalists had been subpoenaed for confidential source information.*
  • This summer, it made that same claim yet we know from the public record that at least 19 journalists have been subpoenaed by federal and special prosecutors for confidential source information since its 2001 claim. (E.g., Judith Miller, Matt Cooper, Tim Russert, Lance Williams, Mark Fainaru-Wada, Philip Shenon)
  • We also know four journalists have been imprisoned at the request either of the Department, U.S. Attorneys under its supervision, or special prosecutors since 2000. (E.g. Josh Wolf, Judith Miller, Jim Taricani, Vanessa Leggett) Collectively, these journalists have spent over 19 months imprisoned.
  • The DOJ argument that “the bill is a solution in search of a problem” ignores the fact that the DOJ guidelines do not cover special prosecutors or civil litigants. In addition to the subpoenas from special prosecutors mentioned above, more than a dozen reporters have received subpoenas in civil suits, such as the Wen Ho Lee and Hatfill privacy lawsuits against the government.
  • We also know based on preliminary report on the 2007 Media Subpoena Survey conducted by the Law College Foundation at the University of Arizona:
    • 761 responding news organizations reported receiving a total of 3,602 subpoenas seeking information or material relating to newsgathering activities in calendar year 2006.
    • Of these, 335 were subpoenas arising out of proceedings that took place in a federal forum.
    • Sixty-four percent of responding newsroom leaders believe the frequency of media subpoenas to be greater than it was five years ago. Fifty percent of the media companies believe the risk of their own organization receiving a subpoena is greater than it was five years ago, while only 5 percent believe the risk to be less.

*See, e.g., Letter from Daniel J. Bryant, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice, to the Hon. Charles E. Grassley, United States Senate, Nov. 28, 2001.

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