Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on Sunday said the Justice Department’s newly announced crackdown on intelligence information leaks is focused on leakers, not reporters, though part of the strategy could have legal ramifications for the latter.
“The attorney general’s been very clear that we’re after the leakers, not the journalists,” Rosenstein said on “Fox News Sunday,” referring to Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Rosenstein called journalists’ fears of legal pressure an “overreaction.”
Sessions and Rosenstein on Friday announced a new Justice Department strategy to crack down on leaks, which Sessions said would include a review of “policies affecting media subpoenas,” suggesting that he may pursue journalists in court to identify their sources.
Both Rosenstein and Sessions declined to respond after the announcement to a reporter’s shouted question about whether the Justice Department plans “to prosecute journalists” as part of its crackdown.
Asked on Sunday whether the Justice Department would prosecute reporters for publishing classified information, Rosenstein declined to give a general answer.
“We don’t prosecute journalists for doing their jobs. We look at the facts and circumstances of each case,” he said. “I don’t think you can draw any general line like that.”
