White House Pushing Media Shield Legislation

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/on-capitol-hill-holder-to-face-questions-on-ap-phone-records-irs-scandal/2013/05/15/d0dfc52c-bd70-11e2-89c9-3be8095fe767_story.html

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. offered few new details Wednesday on Capitol Hill about the Justice Department’s decision to secretly obtain journalists’ phone records, as the White House began pushing for a federal media shield law in an apparent act of damage control amid criticism by members of both political parties and the news media.

Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced that he will reintroduce the media-protecting legislation at the request of the White House, according to a White House official. The Free Flow of Information Act would protect journalists from being compelled to testify about their confidential sources, unless all other avenues are exhausted and exposure is in the public interest.